Summary
Tolt Middle School in Carnation serves 633 students in grades 6–8 and is part of the highly ranked Riverview School District, in a region with many exceptionally strong middle schools. The district ranks 14th of 238 Washington districts, while Tolt ranks 122nd of 514 middle schools for 2025–26, placing it in the 76th percentile statewide. That makes Tolt stronger than most Washington middle schools, although it ranks below nearby schools such as Snoqualmie Middle School, Pine Lake Middle School, and Evergreen Middle School, which rank among the state’s top schools.
Tolt’s 2025–26 proficiency rates are above the Washington average in English language arts and math: 60.32% versus 52.81% statewide in ELA, and 51.53% versus 43.11% in math. Science is the main academic concern, at 50.27%, slightly below the state’s 50.95% and well below the 68.14% district rate. Compared with nearby schools, the gaps are substantial: Chief Kanim Middle School reports 75.95% ELA, 72.38% math, and 69.18% science, while Beaver Lake Middle School reports more than 81% proficiency in all three subjects. Tolt’s strongest grade-level results are in seventh-grade ELA and sixth-grade math; eighth grade is weakest in both ELA and math, with 55.80% and 45.20% proficiency.
The school’s results have been fairly flat in ELA and math, while science has varied considerably in recent years. Tolt has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 18.6 and reported per-student spending of $18,235, so its challenges do not appear to be simply a matter of large classes or low spending. Effectiveness is generally solid for male, female, white, and special education students, but the low-socioeconomic-status subgroup fell to the 43rd percentile in 2024–25. For families comparing options, the clearest questions are how Tolt is strengthening eighth-grade instruction, improving science achievement, and supporting economically disadvantaged students.
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