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Emerson High School

Q: Is Emerson High School a good school?

Emerson High School ranks 176 th of 396 Washington high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

176^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 396 Washington High Schools

Better than 56% of Washington high schools

Summary

Emerson High School in Kirkland serves 67 students in grades 9–12 and offers a highly individualized setting within the high-performing Lake Washington School District, near much larger schools such as International Community School and Lake Washington High School. Its 7.2-to-1 student-teacher ratio is far lower than the roughly 19-to-21-to-1 ratios at many nearby high schools, suggesting a setting built around close support and individualized attention. The school’s latest statewide ranking was 176th of 396 schools, at the 56th percentile.

Emerson’s most important challenge is student completion. Its 2024–25 graduation rate was 65.2%, compared with 94.2% in the district and 82.6% statewide. Its dropout rate was 17.3%, substantially above the district’s 3.2% and the state’s 9.8%. By comparison, graduation rates were 92.8% at Lake Washington High School, 89.0% at Bellevue High School, and 79.5% at Interlake Senior High School. Academically, Emerson’s 2025–26 ELA proficiency rate of 63.16% was above the state’s 52.81% but below the district’s 80.33%. Science was weaker at 41.67%, compared with 50.95% statewide and 80.25% districtwide. Math results were suppressed, so no current school-level figure is available.

Emerson’s strongest indicator is its special-education effectiveness ranking: 1st of 110 schools statewide, in the 99th percentile with five stars. The school also has exceptionally high reported per-student spending, likely reflecting its very small size and specialized model. These resources may provide meaningful support, but they have not yet translated into graduation outcomes near district levels. Parents should view the school as a specialized, small-scale option whose key priorities are reducing dropout risk, improving persistence through graduation, and strengthening science achievement. Because only 67 students attend, a few students can significantly change annual percentages and rankings.

Students ?

7.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$48,164

Per pupil spending ?

32.8%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

10903 NE 53rd ST
Kirkland, WA 98033-7508

(425) 936-2300

District: Lake Washington School District

Racial breakdown:

White:

55.2%

Hispanic:

20.9%

Two or more races:

9.0%

See top rated Washington high schools

Compare Emerson High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 5th percentile in 2009 → 56th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Washington average (55% vs 48% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 51 percentile points since 2009

✓Above the Washington median (56th percentile)

Worth a look

!Graduation rate below the Washington average (65% vs 83%)

!Dropout rate above the Washington average (17% vs 10%)

!Near the bottom of Lake Washington School District's ranking

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school55%

District avg78%

Washington avg48%

176^th of 396

Washington public high schools ?

Top 44%▼ down 8 pts since 2022

From top 37% (2022) to top 44% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Washington High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 5High Schools in the Lake Washington School District

4^th of 238Lake Washington 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	53.2	176 of 396	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	44.0	243 of 438	44.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	72.3	92 of 437	78.9%	★★★★☆
2023	54.8	182 of 442	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	59.8	160 of 434	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2013	53.3	237 of 454	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	50.6	241 of 450	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	13.4	373 of 440	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	42.8	269 of 423	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2009	5.8	383 of 402	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	24.0	325 of 396	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	27.3	318 of 399	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	32.1	299 of 395	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	38.2	275 of 394	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2004	24.0	306 of 390	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2024	99.1	1 of 110	99.1%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2024	66.3	112 of 374	70.1%	★★★★☆

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 (2024)99th percentile+20 vs school

White (2024)70th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts63%+10 vs state

Science42%-9 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Teachers are fantastic. Excellent administrators. This team listens and cares about kids. Lots of individual assistance and small class sizes with very low student:teacher ratio. My teen loves it here and wishes we had founded it sooner. It’s far better than a nearby private school that we were paying $$$ for, the year prior to finding Emerson. Close Quote

Schools Near Emerson High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				WCAS Science (2026)			SBAC English Language Arts (2026)					SBAC Math (2026)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WCAS Science 8th Grade	WCAS Science 11th Grade	WCAS Science All Grades	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 10th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts All Grades	SBAC Math 6th Grade	SBAC Math 7th Grade	SBAC Math 8th Grade	SBAC Math 10th Grade	SBAC Math All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Emerson High School	Public	9-12	10903 NE 53rd ST	Kirkland	98033	King County	Lake Washington School District	No	No	No	No	(425) 936-2300	67	9	7.2	32.8%	37 (55.2%)	2 (3.0%)	14 (20.9%)	2 (3.0%)	1 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (9.0%)	53.2	176^th of 396 public high schools	55.6%		44	243^rd of 438 public high schools	44.5%	67		41.7	41.7				63.2	63.2						$48,164	$163	$48,000
International Community School	Public, Magnet	6-12	11133 NE 65th ST	Kirkland	98033	King County	Lake Washington School District	No	Yes	No	No	(425) 936-2380	421	23	18.6	3.3%	105 (24.9%)	2 (0.5%)	18 (4.3%)	265 (62.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.9%)								(n/a)								93.3					90.8	$18,337	$163	$18,174
Lake Washington High School	Public	9-12	12033 NE 80th	Kirkland	98033	King County	Lake Washington School District	No	No	No	No	(425) 936-1700	2,081	99	20.9	13.5%	1,038 (49.9%)	53 (2.5%)	255 (12.3%)	506 (24.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.2%)	200 (9.6%)	96.9	15^th of 396 public high schools	96.2%		94.7	22^nd of 438 public high schools	95.0%	7		85.2	85.2				83.7	83.7				67.3	67.3	$16,612	$166	$16,446
Bellevue Open Doors Reengagement	Public	10-12	12111 NE 1st Street	Bellevue	98005	King County	Bellevue School District	No	No	No	No	(425) 456-4175	24	0		12.5%	7 (29.2%)	1 (4.2%)	11 (45.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (20.8%)								(n/a)														$6,791	$138	$6,653
Bellevue High School	Public	9-12	10416 Wolverine Way	Bellevue	98004	King County	Bellevue School District	No	No	No	No	(425) 456-7000	1,683	78	21.5	18.6%	538 (32.0%)	66 (3.9%)	159 (9.4%)	690 (41.0%)	2 (0.1%)	10 (0.6%)	211 (12.5%)	93	27^th of 396 public high schools	93.2%		93.9	26^th of 438 public high schools	94.1%	1		61.7	61.7				86.1	86.1				70.8	70.8	$18,561	$186	$18,375
Lake Washington Technical Academy	Public	11-12	11605 132nd Ave NE	Kirkland	98034	King County	Lake Washington Institute of Technology	No	No	No	No	(425) 739-8100	138	0		—	70 (50.7%)	1 (0.7%)	50 (36.2%)	6 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	10 (7.2%)								(n/a)
Open Doors at LWIT	Public	11-12	11605 132nd Ave NE	Kirkland	98034	King County	Lake Washington Institute of Technology	No	No	No	No	(425) 739-8274	5	0		—	1 (20.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (20.0%)	3 (60.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Washington Network for Innovative Careers Skill Center	Public	9-12	16250 NE 74th Street	Redmond	98073	King County	Lake Washington School District	No	No	No	No	(425) 702-3283	266	6	47.8	2.3%	130 (48.9%)	9 (3.4%)	48 (18.0%)	71 (26.7%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)														$18,359	$275	$18,083
International School	Public	6-12	445 128th Ave SE	Bellevue	98005	King County	Bellevue School District	No	No	No	No	(425) 456-6500	600	30	19.9	8.0%	136 (22.7%)	10 (1.7%)	33 (5.5%)	361 (60.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	56 (9.3%)								(n/a)	88.0		89.9	85.9		82.6		88.3	78.3		72.8		83.1	$20,686	$138	$20,548
Interlake Senior High School	Public	9-12	16245 NE 24th Street	Bellevue	98008	King County	Bellevue School District	No	No	No	No	(425) 456-7200	1,611	84	19.2	26.6%	358 (22.2%)	64 (4.0%)	268 (16.6%)	801 (49.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.2%)	106 (6.6%)	96.3	20^th of 396 public high schools	94.9%		94.3	23^rd of 438 public high schools	94.7%	3		73.6	73.6				85.2	85.2				67.9	67.9	$21,413	$319	$21,093

Frequently Asked Questions about Emerson High School

What is the racial makeup of Emerson High School?

Students at Emerson High School are 55% White, 21% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 7% Not Specified, 3% African American, 3% Asian, 1% American Indian.

What district is Emerson High School in?

Lake Washington School District

How many students attend Emerson High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 67 students attended Emerson High School.

Is Emerson High School a good school?

Emerson High School ranks 176^th of 396 Washington high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate Emerson High School!

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Latest Washington data All new data »

2016–17 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

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

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.