Best Public Schools in Zip Code 98672

ZIP code 98672 is served by five schools in the White Salmon Valley School District, covering grades K–12 and enrolling 1,078 students in the White Salmon area. Columbia High School is the largest high school and the strongest overall academic performer, with 361 students, 64.77% ELA proficiency, and a 91% graduation rate. Its ELA result is the highest in the ZIP code, and its math proficiency is slightly above the state average. The school’s main concern is science: proficiency fell to 35.71%, well below district and state results. Columbia’s ranking has improved notably over three years, rising from the 49th to the 61st percentile.

Wayne M. Henkle Middle School has the highest supplied school ranking and the strongest science performance, at 54.95%, above both district and state levels. Science improved substantially from the prior year, while ELA also increased; math remains more challenging. Hulan L. Whitson Elementary is the strongest math performer at 44.67%, slightly above the state average, though both ELA and math declined from the previous year. Wallace & Priscilla Stevenson Intermediate School improved in every reported subject and has strong science results, but sixth-grade ELA and math are notably weaker than fifth-grade results.

Across the traditional schools, math is the most consistent improvement need: proficiency is below 45% at every school with reported results, with the weakest result in sixth grade at Stevenson. Parents may also want to look closely at grade transitions and recent year-to-year changes, especially Columbia’s science decline and Whitson’s academic drop. White Salmon Academy is a very small alternative high school with 35 students; its test results are suppressed, so they should not be interpreted as zero or as evidence of weak performance. Its graduation rate is 72%, below district and state rates, but comparisons with larger traditional schools should be made cautiously because of its size and setting.