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Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 98248

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At a glance

Schools

983

Students

Top rankedVista Middle School261^st of 514 Washington middle schools

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Biggest riser

Vista Middle School up 13 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

ZIP code 98248 in the Ferndale area has two public middle schools serving grades 6–8: Vista Middle School and Horizon Middle School, both part of the Ferndale School District. Together, they enroll 983 students, with Vista serving 550 and Horizon serving 433. Both schools report the same student-teacher ratio of 17.1 to 1, and their reported free or reduced-price lunch rates are nearly identical. The district ranks 156th of 238 Washington districts, placing it around the 34th percentile.

Vista Middle School is the stronger overall performer. It ranks 261st of 514 Washington middle schools, compared with Horizon’s 372nd position. Vista leads Horizon in 2025–2026 proficiency in English language arts, math, and science: 45.27% versus 37.97% in ELA, 35.29% versus 29.65% in math, and 46.75% versus 24.22% in science. Vista is also ahead in every ELA grade and has a particularly strong 8th-grade math result of 39.29%, slightly above the statewide comparison. Its science performance improved from the prior year, although ELA declined and math remained nearly unchanged.

Horizon Middle School has some areas of strength, especially 6th-grade math, where it exceeds the district comparison, and 7th-grade math, where it is close to the district. However, its most important challenges are 8th-grade math, at 16.41%, and 8th-grade science, at 24.22%. Horizon’s science proficiency also fell more than 16 percentage points from the previous year, while ELA and math declined as well. Both schools remain below statewide averages in most subjects, so families may want to consider not only overall rankings but also grade-specific results, recent trends, and the support available in math, science, and literacy.

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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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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 All Grades	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts All Grades	SBAC Math 6th Grade	SBAC Math 7th Grade	SBAC Math 8th Grade	SBAC Math All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Vista Middle School	Public	6-8	6051 Vista Drive	Ferndale	98248	Whatcom County	Ferndale School District	No	No	No	Yes	(360) 383-9370	550	32	17.1	55.6%	277 (50.4%)	12 (2.2%)	136 (24.7%)	32 (5.8%)	34 (6.2%)	8 (1.5%)	51 (9.3%)	45.8	261^st of 514 public middle schools	49.2%		45.4	274^th of 534 public middle schools	48.7%	13	46.8	46.8	40.2	52.6	43.7	45.3	27.9	40.0	39.3	35.3	$19,184	$1,383	$17,801
Horizon Middle School	Public	6-8	2671 Thornton Road	Ferndale	98248	Whatcom County	Ferndale School District	No	No	No	Yes	(360) 383-9850	433	25	17.1	55.4%	233 (53.8%)	6 (1.4%)	101 (23.3%)	13 (3.0%)	43 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.5%)	27.2	372^nd of 514 public middle schools	27.6%		38	318^th of 534 public middle schools	40.4%	54	24.2	24.2	30.9	45.6	36.2	38.0	32.4	38.0	16.4	29.7	$20,342	$1,599	$18,743

Cities Near Zip Code 98248

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Ferndale	0.22 mi	12	197^th
Custer	4.44 mi	1	186^th
Bellingham	5.11 mi	35	105^th
Lynden	7.37 mi	9	104^th
Everson	7.56 mi	7	137^th

See the top WA Washington cities

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.