Wiki&Future
Login · Register
Education guide

Additional Public-School Comparison

Public research notes

This comparison covers the schools supplied on 2026-09-10 that did not already have profiles. Washington assessment results use one consistent source and year: OSPI's 2024–25 school-level results for all students, all tested grades (grades 3–5), meeting or exceeding standard. The WA-rank column uses one consistent third-party source and year—SchoolDigger 2025—instead of mixing the older rankings from the supplied shortlist.

Corrected comparison

School WA rank (2025) Grades relevant now 2024–25 math 2024–25 ELA Diversity index Entry route Kindergarten entry?
Stephen Decatur (Seattle) Not ranked 2–5 HC pathway in current program materials >98% >98% 0.67 SPS enrollment + HC identification + request for pathway school No for kindergarten under the current grade configuration
Cascadia (Seattle) Not ranked 2–5 HC pathway 99.2% 98.2% 0.64 SPS enrollment + HC identification + School Choice request No for kindergarten
John Stanford International (Seattle) #26 / 1,160 K–5 86.2% 83.6% 0.71 SPS option-school application; sibling, GeoZone and native/heritage-speaker rules precede lottery Yes, but selective by lottery/priority and likely waitlisted
Frantz Coe (Seattle) #18 / 1,160 K–5 88.7% 90.1% 0.54 Attendance-area assignment; transfers depend on space Yes if assigned by a Seattle address
Cougar Ridge (Issaquah SD; Bellevue address) #34 / 1,160 K–5 83.0% 83.3% 0.68 Neighborhood assignment; open enrollment is space-dependent Yes if assigned by address
Somerset (Bellevue SD) #5 / 1,160 K–5 91.9% 91.8% 0.42 Neighborhood assignment; transfers depend on district approval and space Yes if assigned by address
Challenger (Issaquah SD) #126 / 1,160 K–5 71.4% 69.7% 0.70 Neighborhood assignment; open enrollment is space-dependent Yes if assigned by address
Skinner North Classical (Chicago) Not applicable K–8 See note below See note below 0.64 GoCPS application + Classical test + rank/tier selection Yes, but highly selective
Concord (Darien, IL) Not applicable PK–4 See note below See note below 0.52 Cass SD 63 residency; nonresident tuition requests require board approval Yes if resident
Naperville CUSD 203 Not applicable 14 elementary schools District-level result; not one school District-level result; not one school Not comparable as one school Address determines the elementary school; residency verification required Yes if resident; exact school depends on address

The diversity index above is calculated from 2024–25 NCES race/ethnicity counts as 1 - sum(group share squared). It estimates the probability that two randomly selected students are reported in different race/ethnicity groups, so higher means more diverse. It does not measure inclusion, language, income or whether families feel that they belong. This corrects the supplied legend, whose written direction conflicted with both its examples and the usual index definition.

WA ranks are SchoolDigger's 2025 third-party rankings based primarily on 2024–25 OSPI results. See the complete ranking table and methodology.

Illinois and Washington proficiency percentages should not be compared as if they were one test. Illinois uses IAR and changed proficiency benchmarks; the Washington schools use SBAC. The supplied Skinner North (96% math / 97% reading) and Concord (69% / 68%) values appear to be third-party snapshots and remain unverified against a common official year, so the individual profiles label them rather than presenting them as current official results.

Most important conclusions for fall 2027

  • Decatur and Cascadia are later-grade Highly Capable pathways, not kindergarten neighborhood choices. They should stay on a later-grade watchlist rather than the immediate kindergarten shortlist.
  • John Stanford is a genuine kindergarten option, but moving near the school is not enough: everyone applies, and kindergarten is expected to have a waitlist.
  • Coe, Cougar Ridge, Somerset, Challenger, Concord and a particular Naperville 203 elementary school are address-driven public options. Exact eligibility must be checked against the address before signing a lease or buying a home.
  • Skinner North is a whole-school selective-enrollment program. In the previous cycle shown by CPS, kindergarten had 1,019 applicants and 53 offers, about a 5.2% offer rate; residence near the campus does not create a guaranteed seat.

Profiles

Sources