Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 98001

ZIP code 98001 has two middle schools—Kilo Middle School and Sequoyah Middle School—serving grades 6–8 in the Federal Way School District; both serve communities with high levels of economic need and have similar student-teacher ratios.

Kilo Middle School is the stronger-performing school overall. In 2025–2026, Kilo had higher proficiency than Sequoyah in English language arts, math, and science, as well as in every reported ELA and math grade level. Kilo’s results were 42.88% in ELA, 29.11% in math, and 44.12% in science, compared with Sequoyah’s 34.69%, 16.80%, and 29.65%. Kilo also ranked substantially higher statewide and improved steadily over the past three reported years. Its strongest relative area is science, where it exceeded the district result by nearly 12 percentage points. Kilo’s eighth-grade ELA performance, at 48.56%, was another notable strength.

Sequoyah Middle School is showing encouraging progress, but remains behind Kilo, district averages, and Washington results in most measures. Sequoyah improved in all three subjects from the prior year, with especially strong growth in science—up 10.83 percentage points—and a 6.20-point gain in ELA. Math remains the most important challenge at both schools, particularly at Sequoyah, where seventh-grade proficiency was 13.75%. Neither school reached statewide averages, although Kilo came relatively close in eighth-grade ELA and performed above district averages in every subject. Families comparing these schools may view Kilo as the stronger academic option based on the available data, while recognizing Sequoyah’s recent improvement and the importance of looking beyond test scores at programs, supports, attendance, and school climate.