Best Public Schools in Zip Code 98626

Summary:

This analysis covers 13 schools in the Kelso School District serving zip code 98626, ranging from elementary to high school, within a district that faces significant economic challenges.

Among elementary schools, Rose Valley Elementary stands out as the highest performer, particularly in math, while Wallace Elementary ranks lowest and serves the highest-need population. At the middle school level, Coweeman Middle School has shown impressive improvement and outperforms Huntington Middle School, which has seen declining rankings. The district's largest school, Kelso High School, presents a mixed picture with a strong graduation rate but low academic proficiency scores, especially in math.

Key takeaways include a notable performance gap between the district and state averages in core subjects, particularly math, and a stark contrast in outcomes between traditional and alternative high schools like Loowit High School. The Kelso Virtual Academy also shows lower proficiency compared to in-person schools. The data reveals pockets of success, like Carrolls Elementary, within a district that overall ranks in the lower-middle tier statewide.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				WCAS Science (2025)				SBAC English Language Arts (2025)								SBAC Math (2025)								% Completely Immunized (2024)	% Polio (2024)	% Measles (2024)	% Mumps (2024)	% Rubella (2024)	% Diphtheria (2024)	% Hepatitis B (2024)	% Varicella (2024)	% Pertussis (2024)	% Tetanus (2024)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WCAS Science 5th Grade	WCAS Science 8th Grade	WCAS Science 11th Grade	WCAS Science All Grades	SBAC English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 4th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 5th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 10th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts All Grades	SBAC Math 3rd Grade	SBAC Math 4th Grade	SBAC Math 5th Grade	SBAC Math 6th Grade	SBAC Math 7th Grade	SBAC Math 8th Grade	SBAC Math 10th Grade	SBAC Math All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Measles KG	% Mumps KG	% Rubella KG	% Diphtheria KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% Pertussis KG	% Tetanus KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Carrolls Elementary	Public	K-5	3902 Old Pacific Hwy S	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1380	107	7	15.5	52.3%	89 (83.2%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (15.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.9%)	51.8	540^th of 1160 public elementary schools	53.4%		61.7	423^rd of 1168 public elementary schools	63.8%	117	53.3			53.3	60.0	42.9	53.3					53.1	80.0	35.7	33.3					53.1	91.7	91.7	100.0	100.0	100.0	91.7	91.7	91.7	91.7	91.7	$20,141	$656	$19,485
Barnes Elementary	Public	K-5	401 Barnes	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	Yes	(360) 501-1500	343	20	16.7	78.4%	208 (60.6%)	1 (0.3%)	89 (25.9%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	24 (7.0%)	18 (5.2%)	32.4	790^th of 1160 public elementary schools	31.9%		23.8	918^th of 1168 public elementary schools	21.4%	128	45.6			45.6	43.4	40.6	36.2					39.9	50.9	37.5	29.3					39.2	94.6	98.2	100.0	100.0	100.0	98.2	98.2	96.4	98.2	98.2	$21,299	$1,627	$19,673
Butler Acres Elementary	Public	K-5	1609 Burcham St	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1600	426	25	17.0	63.4%	283 (66.4%)	1 (0.2%)	95 (22.3%)	5 (1.2%)	7 (1.6%)	7 (1.6%)	28 (6.6%)	44	625^th of 1160 public elementary schools	46.1%		56.6	485^th of 1168 public elementary schools	58.5%	140	47.4			47.4	48.8	45.3	45.3					46.6	57.8	41.3	39.5					46.6	92.7	94.6	94.6	94.6	94.6	92.7	94.6	92.7	92.7	92.7	$17,341	$640	$16,701
Coweeman Middle School	Public	6-8	2000 Allen St	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1750	501	26	19.4	62.3%	335 (66.9%)	0 (0.0%)	100 (20.0%)	7 (1.4%)	7 (1.4%)	15 (3.0%)	36 (7.2%)	46.5	264^th of 534 public middle schools	50.6%		39.3	311^th of 535 public middle schools	41.9%	47		47.7		47.7				42.5	52.7	49.7		48.3				31.8	45.7	30.3		35.9											$16,887	$561	$16,327
Huntington Middle School	Public	6-8	500 Redpath	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1700	559	29	19.1	63.9%	369 (66.0%)	6 (1.1%)	118 (21.1%)	8 (1.4%)	5 (0.9%)	21 (3.8%)	32 (5.7%)	28.7	385^th of 534 public middle schools	27.9%		33.9	345^th of 535 public middle schools	35.5%	40		35.6		35.6				33.5	46.7	41.5		40.9				27.0	33.0	23.3		27.9											$16,561	$565	$15,995
Kelso High School	Public	9-12	1904 Allen St	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1842	1,390	74	18.8	54.2%	954 (68.6%)	5 (0.4%)	273 (19.6%)	15 (1.1%)	21 (1.5%)	34 (2.4%)	88 (6.3%)	28.3	325^th of 438 public high schools	25.8%		30.7	310^th of 437 public high schools	29.1%	15			42.7	42.7							53.3	53.3							14.8	14.8											$16,958	$670	$16,287
Rose Valley Elementary	Public	K-5	404 Long Ave	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1400	186	10	18.6	41.4%	162 (87.1%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	1 (0.5%)	10 (5.4%)	59.9	431^st of 1160 public elementary schools	62.8%		39.3	688^th of 1168 public elementary schools	41.1%	257	53.3			53.3	65.5	38.7	60.0					54.4	82.8	51.6	37.9					57.3	77.3	77.3	86.4	86.4	86.4	77.3	77.3	77.3	77.3	77.3	$18,322	$551	$17,772
Wallace Elementary	Public	K-5	1213 S 5th Ave	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	Yes	(360) 501-1650	333	20	16.8	85.0%	196 (58.9%)	2 (0.6%)	91 (27.3%)	3 (0.9%)	4 (1.2%)	14 (4.2%)	23 (6.9%)	23.3	929^th of 1160 public elementary schools	19.9%		21.5	946^th of 1168 public elementary schools	19.0%	17	40.0			40.0	15.2	41.4	42.6					34.6	21.7	37.9	36.7					32.9	98.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	98.0	100.0	100.0	98.0	98.0	$19,655	$2,015	$17,639
Special Education	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	601 Crawford St	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1904	19	0		68.4%	12 (63.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (21.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (10.5%)								(n/a)																															$5,082	$237	$4,846
Loowit High School	Public	6-12	1904 Allen St	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1424	14	1	28.0	78.6%	11 (78.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (7.1%)	2 (14.3%)								(n/a)																															$10,053	$254	$9,799
Kelso Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	404 Long Ave	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	Yes	No	(360) 232-5000	216	9	23.9	61.6%	156 (72.2%)	2 (0.9%)	36 (16.7%)	1 (0.5%)	4 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (7.9%)								(n/a)		21.9	46.2	35.0						30.3	60.0	32.9								14.3											$11,686	$237	$11,449
Kelso Goal Oriented Learning Design	Public	9-12	1904 Allen St	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 501-1424	12	1	24.0	66.7%	7 (58.3%)	1 (8.3%)	2 (16.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (8.3%)								(n/a)																															$5,963	$237	$5,727
Lexington Elementary	Public	K-5	200 Boardwalk Way	Kelso	98626	Cowlitz County	Kelso School District	No	No	No	Yes	(360) 501-1450	854	51	16.8	63.7%	616 (72.1%)	3 (0.4%)	148 (17.3%)	6 (0.7%)	5 (0.6%)	6 (0.7%)	70 (8.2%)	52.1	534^th of 1160 public elementary schools	54.0%		52	536^th of 1168 public elementary schools	54.1%	2	54.7			54.7	44.8	45.5	60.5					50.1	63.2	39.3	44.5					48.5	95.5	97.0	97.0	97.0	97.0	97.0	99.2	95.5	97.0	97.0	$16,339	$953	$15,386

Cities Near Zip Code 98626

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Kelso	0.41 mi	13	173^rd
Longview	1.91 mi	19	193^rd
Castle Rock	8.81 mi	4	260^th
Kalama	9.65 mi	3	155^th
Toutle	14.06 mi	2	245^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.