Summary:
ZIP code 98923, which includes the Cowiche area, has one middle school: Highland Middle School, serving grades 6–8 and 243 students through the Highland School District.
Highland Middle School performs below both district and Washington averages, although results vary by subject. English language arts is the school’s strongest overall area, with 32.88% of students proficient in 2025–2026, compared with 43.84% in the district and 52.81% statewide. Science proficiency was 28.05%, only 3.97 percentage points below the district, making it the school’s closest subject to the district average. Math is the largest concern: just 17.89% of students were proficient, compared with 28.60% in the district and 43.11% statewide.
Results also differ by grade. Eighth grade had the strongest ELA performance at 37.80%, while seventh-grade ELA was lowest at 26.32%. Seventh-grade math was strongest at 25.33%, but eighth-grade math fell to only 10.98%, the most urgent grade-and-subject concern. The school’s statewide rank improved from 482nd of 535 schools in 2023–2024 to 442nd of 514 in 2025–2026, but it remained at the 14th percentile and received one star. Recent trends were mixed: math improved slightly, while ELA declined modestly and science declined more noticeably. About 76.54% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating substantial economic need. Parents may want to ask about math intervention, eighth-grade readiness, seventh-grade ELA support, and how the school is responding to the recent science decline.
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