The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 90%.
Original Research by School Decision on Northstar Middle School
Northstar Middle School serves grades six through eight in Kirkland as an alternative school within the Lake Washington School District. The school is small, with a total enrollment that reflects its alternative status and grade band. Its student body is predominantly Asian and white, with a much smaller share of students who are two or more races and a very small share who are Hispanic. A very small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
State testing data is largely suppressed for this school. Washington commonly suppresses results when a tested group is very small, and that appears to be the case here. For sixth-grade English language arts, a reported figure is available and indicates that the vast majority of tested students met or exceeded the state standard. For sixth-grade math and for all other tested subjects and grades, results are suppressed, so a broader picture of schoolwide performance cannot be drawn from state assessments. The overall proficiency index that can be calculated from the available data, which combines reported results across subjects and grades, sits above the vast majority of schools in King County, falling in the top quarter relative to other districts.
There is no graduation rate to report because the school does not serve upper high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available.
The school is an alternative school, which is a designation that can mean different things in different districts. In Washington, alternative schools are often designed for students who benefit from a different educational structure than a traditional comprehensive middle school offers. Without specific program details from the data, it is not possible to say exactly what model Northstar follows, but the small enrollment and the alternative label suggest it is not the default neighborhood middle school for a large attendance zone. A parent considering the school would want to understand the school's specific mission, its admission or placement process, and what kind of student it is designed to serve.
The surrounding housing market is expensive. The Kirkland zip code where the school sits has home values and rents that are substantially above national and statewide benchmarks, consistent with the broader King County market. The county housing market shows a modest increase in active listings compared to a year ago, while new listings and pending sales have dropped slightly. Median days on market have edged upward, but the overall picture is still one of a high-cost area with significant demand.
Kirkland is a dense suburb on the shore of Lake Washington, with a downtown waterfront that has restaurants, parks, and a performing arts center. The city has grown substantially through annexation and new development. Major employers include a large healthcare system and several technology companies. The Lake Washington School District is a large employer in the city. The district's most recent publicly reported changes were not available in this data, so there is no specific recent referendum, boundary adjustment, or program shift to report from that source.
This school is not the typical comprehensive middle school experience. The alternative designation, the small size, and the difficulty in drawing conclusions from standardized testing all point to a setting that serves a particular purpose. For a family trying to understand it, the most important step is to speak with the school directly about how students are referred or enrolled, what the academic model looks like day to day, and how the school supports its students toward their next steps in high school.
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