Summary:
The six public middle schools in the Vancouver School District serve grades 6–8 and enroll about 4,072 students across the Vancouver area. School performance varies considerably, so families may want to compare both academic results and each school’s student-support needs. The district’s strongest overall performer is Alki Middle School, which ranks in the 80th statewide percentile and is the only school exceeding 50% proficiency in English language arts, math, and science. It also exceeds state averages in all three subjects.
Thomas Jefferson Middle School is the second-strongest academic performer, ranking above the district average in every tested subject. Jason Lee Middle School offers a more mixed profile but stands out in science, where it ranks second among the six schools. The schools needing the most academic improvement are Gaiser Middle School, Discovery Middle School, and especially McLoughlin Middle School. These three schools fall below district averages in ELA, math, and science, with McLoughlin ranking at the first statewide percentile and recording the lowest results in every subject.
Math is the most significant challenge across the group: the six-school average is about 25%, compared with 34% in ELA and 37% in science. Recent science results are more encouraging, improving at five schools, including gains of more than seven percentage points at Alki, Jason Lee, Gaiser, and Discovery. School resources also differ: per-student spending ranges from about $17,654 to $21,736, while student-teacher ratios range from 20.2:1 to 23.8:1. These figures do not by themselves predict performance, so families may also wish to ask about tutoring, intervention programs, attendance support, staffing stability, course offerings, and school climate when comparing options.
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