Best Public Schools in Zip Code 98466

Schools in ZIP code 98466 include seven public schools serving elementary through high school students in the University Place and Tacoma districts. The area offers four elementary schools, two intermediate schools, and one high school, but performance varies substantially by district and by school.

The five schools in the University Place School District generally have stronger results than the two Tacoma schools in the ZIP code. Narrows View Intermediate is the strongest overall academic performer, ranking in the 97th percentile among Washington middle schools, with 79.6% proficiency in English language arts and 71.5% in math. At the high school level, Curtis Senior High stands out for its 96.2% graduation rate, 1.1% dropout rate, and 82.9% ELA proficiency. Among elementary schools, University Place Primary has the strongest math result at 75.2%, while Sunset Primary showed the largest recent improvement, increasing ELA proficiency by 13.6 percentage points and math proficiency by 9 points.

Evergreen Primary has respectable math performance and improved its ranking over time, but its current ELA proficiency trails the other University Place elementary schools. The two Tacoma School District schools have more mixed results. Whittier Elementary School has 47.0% math proficiency but only 41.5% in ELA, while Wainwright Intermediate School is the main area of concern, particularly in math, where only 28.8% of students are proficient. Overall, district assignment is an important consideration, but parents should also compare the specific school, grade level, subject results, and recent trends.