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Kent-Meridian High School

Public Grades 9-12
401st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 438 Washington High Schools
Better than 8% of Washington high schools
Summary

Kent-Meridian High School is a large public high school serving about 1,640 students in grades 9-12 within the Kent School District, located in a community with a high level of economic need.

Academic performance at the school is significantly lower than at other comprehensive high schools in the area. It ranks in the bottom 10% of all Washington high schools, with proficiency rates in math, English, and science that are less than half those of nearby schools like Kentridge High School and Kentwood High School. The school's graduation rate is below the state and district averages, while its dropout rate is notably higher. This is happening even though Kent-Meridian spends more per student and has a lower student-to-teacher ratio than these comparison schools, suggesting challenges that go beyond basic funding.

When compared to a school with a similar student population, like Thomas Jefferson High School in the Federal Way School District, Kent-Meridian's outcomes in graduation and dropout rates are weaker. The school's statewide ranking has also declined sharply in recent years, a trend not seen at its district peers. One relative strength appears to be in serving Special Education students, whose performance has been near the state average.

1,639
Students ?
20.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,208
Per pupil spending ?
68.9%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 10020 SE 256th ST
       Kent, WA  98030-6408

(253) 373-7405

District: Kent School District


Feeder schools for Kent-Meridian High School:

Elementary:    East Hill Elementary School
    George T. Daniel Elementary School
    Kent Elementary School
    Meadow Ridge Elementary School
    More...
Middle:    Mill Creek Middle School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
40.2%
Asian:
18.6%
African American:
14.5%
more
 See top rated Washington high schools

 Compare Kent-Meridian High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 8th percentile in 2015 → 8th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Washington average (27% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)
!Dropout rate above the Washington average (14% vs 10%)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school27%
District avg40%
Washington avg48%
401st of 438
Washington public high schools ?
Bottom 8%▲ up 1 pts since 2015
See the entire ranking list of Washington High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 5High Schools in the Kent School District
159th of 247Kent 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
202512.4401 of 4388.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.3367 of 43716.0%★☆☆☆☆
202317.0389 of 44212.0%★☆☆☆☆
202217.2375 of 43413.6%★☆☆☆☆
202119.3384 of 45515.6%★☆☆☆☆
201924.6329 of 41721.1%★☆☆☆☆
201818.9273 of 31513.3%★☆☆☆☆
201723.7248 of 30117.6%★☆☆☆☆
201631.0238 of 30622.2%★☆☆☆☆
201515.2314 of 3417.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201334.5332 of 45426.9%★☆☆☆☆
201229.9337 of 45025.1%★☆☆☆☆
201134.2302 of 44031.4%★★☆☆☆
201028.7324 of 42323.4%★☆☆☆☆
200929.4310 of 40222.9%★☆☆☆☆
200829.3312 of 39621.2%★☆☆☆☆
200729.2312 of 39921.8%★☆☆☆☆
200628.5307 of 39522.3%★☆☆☆☆
200537.6278 of 39429.4%★☆☆☆☆
200434.7273 of 39030.0%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
20259.578 of 802.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202421.756 of 7020.0%★☆☆☆☆
202317.668 of 7812.8%★☆☆☆☆
202216.279 of 8911.2%★☆☆☆☆
202129.585 of 11123.4%★☆☆☆☆
201924.873 of 8615.1%★☆☆☆☆
201818.350 of 547.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
20254.8118 of 1190.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202412.8105 of 1137.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20239.9115 of 1182.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202218.4109 of 12412.1%★☆☆☆☆
202113.6127 of 1366.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201915.0110 of 1219.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201810.782 of 875.7%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202517.179 of 857.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.758 of 6814.7%★☆☆☆☆
202314.142 of 444.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202220.760 of 7014.3%★☆☆☆☆
202122.990 of 10211.8%★☆☆☆☆
201925.856 of 6918.8%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
20257.5342 of 3502.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202415.2311 of 34710.4%★☆☆☆☆
202310.9343 of 3573.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202214.1333 of 3689.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202118.6333 of 39014.6%★☆☆☆☆
201922.0294 of 35817.9%★☆☆☆☆
201816.8218 of 24310.3%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202512.0232 of 2496.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202422.4211 of 24814.9%★☆☆☆☆
202322.8202 of 24918.9%★☆☆☆☆
202218.9234 of 26110.3%★☆☆☆☆
202126.2219 of 27821.2%★☆☆☆☆
201924.2196 of 24118.7%★☆☆☆☆
201819.1143 of 1568.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202510.4337 of 3555.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.3320 of 35610.1%★☆☆☆☆
202318.1324 of 36210.5%★☆☆☆☆
202220.4322 of 37013.0%★☆☆☆☆
202124.8320 of 39218.4%★☆☆☆☆
201924.8281 of 34418.3%★☆☆☆☆
201815.3215 of 2275.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202514.2326 of 3599.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202417.2313 of 36213.5%★☆☆☆☆
202318.0304 of 35815.1%★☆☆☆☆
202215.8322 of 36311.3%★☆☆☆☆
202118.6340 of 39513.9%★☆☆☆☆
201923.9286 of 35519.4%★☆☆☆☆
201814.6233 of 2548.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202527.4133 of 17021.8%★☆☆☆☆
202424.6131 of 16118.6%★☆☆☆☆
202320.8141 of 16615.1%★☆☆☆☆
202225.2143 of 17920.1%★☆☆☆☆
202131.1142 of 19527.2%★☆☆☆☆
201946.885 of 16347.9%★★☆☆☆

Pacific Islander

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202519.68 of 80.0%★☆☆☆☆
202134.324 of 3327.3%★★☆☆☆
201936.614 of 1822.2%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202526.194 of 12726.0%★☆☆☆☆
202440.057 of 11048.2%★★☆☆☆
202123.8177 of 21216.5%★☆☆☆☆
201920.6118 of 1287.8%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202517.4327 of 37312.3%★☆☆☆☆
202414.2339 of 3749.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.8317 of 37916.4%★☆☆☆☆
202225.4320 of 39017.9%★☆☆☆☆
202116.8373 of 4139.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201929.2302 of 38220.9%★☆☆☆☆
201820.4194 of 22212.6%★☆☆☆☆
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 (2025)26th percentile+18 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)22nd percentile+13 vs school
White (2025)12th percentile+4 vs school
Male (2025)9th percentile~ school
English Language Learner (2025)7th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)7th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)5th percentile-3 vs school
African American (2025)2nd percentile-6 vs school
Female (2025)2nd percentile-6 vs school
Asian (2025)1st percentile-8 vs school
Pacific Islander (2025)<1st percentile-8 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts38%-15 vs state
Science30%-20 vs state
Math13%-30 vs state

2.3
3 ratings · 2 written reviews
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What people are saying
by a student
Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Open Quote Lots of people (Students and Parents) talk about KM being "GHETTO" how students are "BAD" and how KM's sports teams don't win anything. The problem with the people is that they judge the school by its cover. Kent-Meridian looks ghetto but is not ghetto at all. The school looks ghetto because it was built in 1951 and the only real upgrade it has received was the renovation of the East Wing and Gym. The main and art building has not been renovated or upgraded since it was built. When it comes to the administration and staff, they care a lot about their students and the school. They are doing everything that they can to improve the school. The school has been gradually improving when it comes to test scores. Sports in KM is doing good. It has really been improving, especially this year. The Boys Track & Field Team were STATE CHAMPIONS of 2011. The Boys basketball reached the playoffs. The Football team has improved from 0 wins to 3 wins. KM Sports is not the greatest, and not as good as KW is, but they do win and are persevered to getting better for the next couple of years. Overall, KM is a really good school so, "DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER!" Close Quote


by a student
Saturday, May 7, 2011

Open Quote Kent Meridian is to ghetto and way to many people who should be failing. People obviously don't care about these students. It's hard when you have to lose every game you play. That's how it's like playing sports. I have never ever seen KM win a thing. Look at KW they win almost everything. Rarely lose. I think I've made my point. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Kent-Meridian High School

Kent-Meridian High School ranks in the bottom 8.4% of Washington high schools.

Students at Kent-Meridian High School are 40% Hispanic, 19% Asian, 15% African American, 14% White, 6% Pacific Islander, 6% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,639 students attended Kent-Meridian High School.


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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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