Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 98296

ZIP code 98296, in the Snohomish, WA area, contains two middle schools serving two different districts: Valley View Middle School (grades 7–8, 641 students) in Snohomish School District and Hidden River Middle School (grades 6–8, 313 students) in Monroe School District. The two are structurally different: Valley View has roughly 320 students per grade, Hidden River about 104.

Valley View is the clear academic standout, ranking in the 87th percentile of 514 Washington middle schools and holding 4 stars for three straight years. It beats the state by +16.81 points in ELA, +12.84 in math, and +10.57 in science, and it is the only school here that outperforms its own district in every subject. Its 8th-grade ELA proficiency of 70.18 is the highest figure in this data, 19.28 points above the state's 8th-grade ELA. It achieves this with larger classes (student–teacher ratio 22.2) and lower per-student spending ($18,868) than its neighbor.

Hidden River sits close to average: math 43.43 versus state 43.11 and district 43.42, ELA 56.71 versus state 52.81, and science 52.22 versus state 50.95. Its rank has climbed steadily (63rd → 69th → 70th percentile), but that gain came more from peer schools shifting than from its own scores rising — ELA fell 2.55 points year over year. It serves more low-income students (35.14% versus 21.22% free/reduced lunch), spends $1,858 more per student, and has smaller classes (17.9 versus 22.2), yet posts roughly 12 points lower proficiency in each subject. Note that the spending figure is from 2023–24 while scores are 2025–26, so this contrast is indicative rather than causal.