Schools in Zip Code 98903

ZIP code 98903 has three public schools serving grades PK–8: Union Gap School serves through eighth grade, while Ridgeview Elementary and Martin Luther King Junior Elementary serve elementary grades, and all operate in a high-need area with roughly 87% to 93% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Together, the schools enroll 1,576 students.

Union Gap School is the strongest overall option based on the latest results. It ranks in the 48th percentile, compared with the 22nd percentile for Ridgeview Elementary and the 9th percentile for Martin Luther King Junior Elementary. Union Gap also leads in all-grade English, math, and science, with science proficiency slightly above the state average. Its strongest results are generally in grades 5, 6, and 8, although third-grade English and some lower-grade math results are important weaknesses. Because Union Gap serves more grades than the two K–5 schools, grade-level comparisons are more useful than direct comparisons of overall averages.

Ridgeview Elementary is in the middle academically but has shown meaningful recent progress, improving in English and math and rising from the 10th to the 22nd percentile. Its math performance is notably stronger than the overall results for the Yakima School District, while science is a major concern. Martin Luther King Junior Elementary has the lowest current results but recorded the largest English improvement and relatively strong third-grade math. Parents comparing the two Yakima schools should pay particular attention to science and upper-elementary math, especially fifth grade. Spending and student-teacher ratios vary, but the data do not show that higher spending alone produces stronger outcomes.