University Place Rated A Top 10 School District In Washington

UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA - As the 2017-18 school year kicks off, parents and students heading to their first day of school can see how their school district stacks up against others in the state as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of best schools and school districts in the country.

The 2018 rankings released this month rank elementary, middle and high schools as well as school districts.

According to Niche, Bellevue is the best school district in the state, followed closely by Eastside rivals Lake Washington, Mercer Island, and Issaquah. With an overall Niche grade of A+, Bellevue received a grade of A+ in the categories of academics and college prep.

To arrive at these rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. The methodology for each category of ranking varied. (Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

The Best School Districts In Washington For 2018 According To Niche.com:

1. Bellevue School District - Overall Grade: A+
2. Mercer Island School District - Overall Grade: A
3. Lake Washington School District - Overall Grade: A
4. Issaquah School District - Overall Grade: A
5. Bainbridge Island School District - Overall Grade: A
6. Camas School District - Overall Grade: A
7. Northshore School District - Overall Grade: A
8. University Place School District - Overall Grade: A
9. Seattle Public Sschools - Overall Grade: A-
10. Shoreline School District - Overall Grade: A-

Niche’s data for its K-12 school district rankings comes from various sources including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection. The rankings also rely on data that is self-reported by Niche users and schools. (Click here to learn more about where Niche’s data comes from.)

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below.

This story was written by Feroze Dhanoa