Summary:
ZIP code 98178 has one listed high school, Talley High School, a small grades 6–12 school serving 248 students in the Seattle area through Renton School District.
For parents, Talley offers a relatively small-school setting, with a student-teacher ratio of 14.2 to 1. However, the school’s academic and completion results indicate significant challenges. In 2025–2026, 25% of students were proficient in English Language Arts and 32.26% were proficient in science, compared with 47.42% and 45.71%, respectively, across the district. The school’s math results were suppressed, so they cannot be fairly classified as either strong or weak. Talley’s four-year graduation rate was 62.1%, well below the district’s 81.7% and the state’s 82.6%. Its dropout rate was 24.2%, more than twice the district and state rates, making graduation support, attendance, credit completion, and student engagement important areas for families to investigate.
There are also a few encouraging signs. Talley’s statewide ranking improved from the 2nd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 9th percentile in 2025–2026, and science proficiency increased by 6.33 percentage points in the most recent year. ELA performance, however, remained nearly unchanged and is the clearest academic weakness, particularly for 10th graders, whose proficiency rate was 25% versus 59.11% districtwide. About 64.52% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating that many families may benefit from strong academic, counseling, attendance, and support services. Because the school is relatively small, annual percentages may change noticeably when the number of tested or graduating students is limited. Parents should ask about graduation pathways, dropout prevention, ELA intervention, and how the school is building on its recent science improvement.
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