Summary:
ZIP code 98260, on Whidbey Island, includes two high schools serving grades 9–12: South Whidbey High School, a comprehensive school with 390 students, and South Whidbey Academy, a smaller program serving 42 students in grades 10–12. Both are operated by the South Whidbey School District, which ranks in the top 16% of Washington districts and has a four-star rating.
South Whidbey High School is the clear standout on current academic measures. It ranks 35th out of 396 Washington schools, placing it around the 91st percentile, and has a five-star rating. Its 2024–2025 graduation rate was 96.0%, compared with 82.6% statewide. In 2025–2026, proficiency was 80.22% in English Language Arts, 57.14% in Math, and 63.01% in Science—above both district and state rates in every subject. Math improved substantially from the prior year, while Science declined from 82.35% to 63.01% and may be worth monitoring. The school also offers the larger, more traditional high school experience, with far more students and a reported 17.6-to-1 student-teacher ratio.
South Whidbey Academy is a distinct small-school option rather than a direct equivalent to the comprehensive high school. Its latest available ranking was 180th of 437 schools, around the 59th percentile, showing improvement from earlier years. Current English Language Arts, Math, and Science results are suppressed because the student population is small; this means the figures are private, not that performance was poor or zero. The Academy’s available 2024–2025 Science proficiency was 61.54%, slightly above the district and well above the state. Parents comparing the schools should consider program fit, school size, and the Academy’s limited current data, while noting that results from different years are not always directly comparable.
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