Cascade Middle School, Seattle WA

Original Research by School Decision on Cascade Middle School

Cascade Middle School is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in Seattle, operating as part of the Highline School District. It sits in the White Center neighborhood, a dense urban area within the city limits, though its zip code places it close to the Seattle–Burien boundary. The school draws from a community where housing costs are high by national standards, typical of the greater Seattle region, and where the local housing market has seen modest price shifts in recent years. Families living nearby will find a mix of older single-family homes and multifamily rentals, with rents that reflect the wider King County market.

The student body is large for a middle school, and its composition is notably diverse. More than half of students are Hispanic, with a substantial Asian cohort and smaller shares of Black, white, and multiracial students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high concentration of economic need. The school does not report data on students with disabilities or English learners in the available information, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports in place for those populations.

On state assessments, Cascade Middle School’s results show that a relatively small share of students met proficiency standards across tested subjects. In English language arts, roughly a quarter of students were proficient, with a slightly higher share in eighth grade than in sixth or seventh. In math, proficiency was lower, with fewer than one in five students meeting the bar across all three grades. Science, tested only in eighth grade, showed about three in ten students proficient. These figures place the school’s overall academic performance in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts in King County, a region that includes many high-performing schools. It is important to note that this is a single-year snapshot; the data does not include a multi-year trend, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent a pattern or a recent shift.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not available in the profile. A family considering Cascade should seek further context from the school or district on attendance patterns and school climate.

Highline Public Schools, the district that operates Cascade, has been undergoing a multi-year modernization program that includes rebuilding and relocating several schools, as well as an expanding portfolio of choice schools such as Maritime High School and Innovation Heights Academy. These changes may affect feeder patterns and options for families within the district over time. Cascade itself is listed as a regular middle school and does not appear to have a specialized magnet or choice designation.

In sum, Cascade Middle School serves a large, economically diverse student population in a high-cost urban area. Its state test results are low relative to the surrounding county, which a parent may want to investigate further, particularly in math. The district’s ongoing facilities work and expanding choice options mean that the set of schools available to a Cascade family could shift in the coming years. For families whose priority is proximity and a highly diverse school community, Cascade offers that. For those focused on high aggregate test scores or a wide array of specialized programs, it may not be the best fit without additional inquiry.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 20% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 20% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 18%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 30% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 722%

School 22% · District 31% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Science

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 27% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

This schoolHighline School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income23%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income24%Higher-income33%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income38%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income49%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income6%Higher-income13%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income35%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income13%Higher-income24%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income15%Higher-income31%16 pp gap