Best High Schools in Zip Code 98541

ZIP code 98541 contains two high schools — Elma High School and East Grays Harbor Open Doors — both serving grades 9–12 within the Elma School District in Washington, with a combined enrollment of roughly 620 students. Elma High School is by far the larger, with 578 students (about 93% of the total), while East Grays Harbor Open Doors is a much smaller program with 42 students. The two differ sharply in size, spending, and outcomes, so parents should look at each separately rather than as a single neighborhood picture.

Elma High School stands out for strong completion results: a 91.4% graduation rate and a 2.5% dropout rate, both notably better than the state's 82.6% graduation and 9.8% dropout figures. The academic picture is more mixed. Math is the clear weak spot, with only 15.89% of students proficient — far below the district's 31.34% and the state's 43.11%. English language arts slipped from 65.89% to 51.01% year over year, while science held near 47.66%. Reflecting those declines, the school's state rank fell from the 53rd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 34th percentile in 2025–2026, and its star rating dropped from 3 to 2. It also spends $20,653 per student and has a 22.6 student-teacher ratio.

East Grays Harbor Open Doors shows stark completion gaps — a 48.3% graduation rate and a 35.4% dropout rate — alongside lower per-student spending of $7,490 and a free/reduced lunch rate of 66.67%, close to Elma High's 62.46%. Its science scores are suppressed by the state to protect student privacy, and no ELA or math scores are reported, so its academic performance cannot be judged from this data; treat those blanks as unknown, not as zeros. As an "Open Doors" program, it likely serves a different, often credit-recovery population. District-wide, the Elma School District is ranked 142 of 238 with 2 stars and a 92.3% graduation rate, meaning its profile is stronger on completion than on test scores.