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Highline High School

Public Grades 9-12
344th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 396 Washington High Schools
Better than 13% of Washington high schools
Summary

Highline High School is a large, traditional public school in Burien, Washington, serving grades 9–12 and 1,423 students in a diverse, economically mixed community through the Highline School District.

The school ranks 344th out of 396 Washington high schools, placing it at the 13th percentile with a one-star rating. Its academic results are uneven: English language arts is a relative strength, with 43.49% of students proficient in 2025–26—above the district average and similar to Evergreen High School and Foster Senior High School. However, ELA proficiency has declined from 52.19% in 2022–23. Mathematics is the clearest weakness, at 16.96%, below both district and state averages. Science proficiency was 22.66%, also well below state results, and has declined steadily over the past four years. These results suggest that math and science support should be major priorities while the school works to rebuild its ELA performance.

Graduation outcomes are more encouraging: the 2024–25 graduation rate was 81.8%, matching the district and close to the state average. Still, the 13.3% dropout rate is higher than both, making attendance, credit completion, and student re-engagement important concerns. With 67.04% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch and a 21.5:1 student-teacher ratio, Highline High School serves a higher-need population than smaller specialty schools such as Maritime High School and Big Picture School. It generally compares favorably with nearby large schools such as Tyee High School and Evergreen High School, but its low subgroup effectiveness results point to a need for stronger support for English language learners, low-income students, and homeless students.

1,423
Students ?
21.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,762
Per pupil spending ?
67%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 225 S 152nd St
       Burien, WA  98148-1087

(206) 631-6700

District: Highline School District


Feeder schools for Highline High School:

Elementary:    Cedarhurst Elementary
    Gregory Heights Elementary
    Hazel Valley Elementary
    Hilltop Elementary
    More...
Middle:    Glacier Middle School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
55.5%
Asian:
16.5%
White:
9.7%
more
 See top rated Washington high schools

 Compare Highline High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 28th percentile in 2016 → 13th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Washington average (29% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)
!Dropout rate above the Washington average (13% vs 10%)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school29%
District avg30%
Washington avg48%
344th of 396
Washington public high schools ?
Bottom 13%▼ down 15 pts since 2016
From bottom 28% (2016) to bottom 13% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Washington High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 6High Schools in the Highline School District
198th of 238Highline School District among Washington districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202616.6344 of 39613.1%★☆☆☆☆
202517.2371 of 43815.3%★☆☆☆☆
202415.3392 of 43710.3%★☆☆☆☆
202321.2355 of 44219.7%★☆☆☆☆
202219.4363 of 43416.4%★☆☆☆☆
202110.4435 of 4554.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201925.1327 of 41721.6%★☆☆☆☆
201842.8213 of 31532.4%★★☆☆☆
201731.0228 of 30124.3%★☆☆☆☆
201635.5221 of 30627.8%★☆☆☆☆
201325.7361 of 45420.5%★☆☆☆☆
201228.0346 of 45023.1%★☆☆☆☆
201129.0324 of 44026.4%★☆☆☆☆
201037.3296 of 42330.0%★★☆☆☆
200937.0283 of 40229.6%★☆☆☆☆
200835.2294 of 39625.8%★☆☆☆☆
200725.8320 of 39919.8%★☆☆☆☆
200636.3288 of 39527.1%★☆☆☆☆
200558.8183 of 39453.6%★★★☆☆
200454.2198 of 39049.2%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202629.356 of 7727.3%★★☆☆☆
202511.276 of 805.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202425.652 of 7025.7%★☆☆☆☆
202337.153 of 7832.1%★★☆☆☆
202257.237 of 8958.4%★★★☆☆
202113.1107 of 1113.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201939.151 of 8640.7%★★☆☆☆
201872.99 of 5483.3%★★★★☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202619.366 of 8118.5%★☆☆☆☆
202542.967 of 11943.7%★★☆☆☆
202417.598 of 11313.3%★☆☆☆☆
202318.3101 of 11814.4%★☆☆☆☆
202211.0119 of 1244.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.7133 of 1362.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201923.8100 of 12117.4%★☆☆☆☆
201838.559 of 8732.2%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202614.997 of 1046.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202520.474 of 8512.9%★☆☆☆☆
202416.364 of 685.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202233.243 of 7038.6%★★☆☆☆
202120.695 of 1026.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201927.654 of 6921.7%★☆☆☆☆
201831.847 of 6527.7%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202616.1271 of 30912.3%★☆☆☆☆
202518.1296 of 35015.4%★☆☆☆☆
202419.8293 of 34715.6%★☆☆☆☆
202323.3283 of 35720.7%★☆☆☆☆
202219.4317 of 36813.9%★☆☆☆☆
202112.1366 of 3906.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201924.1289 of 35819.3%★☆☆☆☆
201838.0178 of 24326.7%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202614.2220 of 2366.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20259.4237 of 2494.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.2240 of 2483.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.0227 of 2498.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202210.9254 of 2612.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202112.9268 of 2783.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201916.0219 of 2419.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201838.2102 of 15634.6%★★☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202510.734 of 365.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202242.414 of 2748.1%★★★☆☆
202116.841 of 458.9%★☆☆☆☆
201935.730 of 4330.2%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202619.2282 of 32513.2%★☆☆☆☆
202524.5284 of 35520.0%★☆☆☆☆
202415.3330 of 3567.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202327.0280 of 36222.7%★☆☆☆☆
202226.0297 of 37019.7%★☆☆☆☆
202118.8352 of 39210.2%★☆☆☆☆
201929.0262 of 34423.8%★☆☆☆☆
201848.1134 of 22741.0%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202613.8293 of 32610.1%★☆☆☆☆
202514.6324 of 3599.7%★☆☆☆☆
20247.6353 of 3622.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202316.0313 of 35812.6%★☆☆☆☆
202215.6325 of 36310.5%★☆☆☆☆
20218.5379 of 3954.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201922.7292 of 35517.7%★☆☆☆☆
201840.1173 of 25431.9%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202520.8143 of 17015.9%★☆☆☆☆
202418.3140 of 16113.0%★☆☆☆☆
202333.1114 of 16631.3%★★☆☆☆
202220.1152 of 17915.1%★☆☆☆☆
202148.587 of 19555.4%★★★☆☆
201917.5145 of 16311.0%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
201831.198 of 13929.5%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202625.8253 of 31920.7%★☆☆☆☆
202528.1282 of 37324.4%★☆☆☆☆
202427.7288 of 37423.0%★☆☆☆☆
202328.6291 of 37923.2%★☆☆☆☆
202240.3243 of 39037.7%★★☆☆☆
202133.0285 of 41331.0%★★☆☆☆
201938.5254 of 38233.5%★★☆☆☆
201859.297 of 22256.3%★★★☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Special Education (2018)29th percentile-3 vs school
African American (2026)27th percentile+14 vs school
White (2026)21st percentile+8 vs school
Asian (2026)19th percentile+5 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)16th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)13th percentile~ school
Female (2026)12th percentile~ school
Male (2026)10th percentile-3 vs school
Hispanic (2026)7th percentile-6 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)7th percentile-6 vs school
Homeless (2025)6th percentile-10 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts43%-9 vs state
Science23%-28 vs state
Math17%-26 vs state

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Schools Near Highline High School

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Frequently Asked Questions about Highline High School

Highline High School ranks in the bottom 13.1% of Washington high schools.

Students at Highline High School are 56% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 10% White, 9% African American, 5% Two or more races, 2% Pacific Islander.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,423 students attended Highline High School.

Highline High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Cedarhurst Elementary
Elementary : Gregory Heights Elementary
Elementary : Hazel Valley Elementary
Elementary : Hilltop Elementary
Elementary : Seahurst Elementary School
Middle : Glacier Middle School

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Latest Washington data All new data »
2025–26 SBAC & WCAS test scoresSep 10, 2026
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 8, 2026
2022–23 through 2023–24 school spending dataJan 6, 2026
2024–25 SBAC & WCAS test scoresSep 10, 2025


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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