Mercer International Middle School, Seattle WA

Original Research by School Decision on Mercer International Middle School

Mercer International Middle School is a regular public school in Seattle Public Schools, serving grades six through eight. It sits within a major Pacific Northwest metropolis that functions as a technology hub with Amazon headquartered in the city and Microsoft in the region, a manufacturing center for Boeing, and a major port. The city’s urban core is dense with skyscrapers, retail, and public spaces like Pike Place Market, surrounded by hillside residential neighborhoods. Housing values in the area are high relative to national benchmarks, reflecting the broader Seattle market, and rents are similarly elevated. The city has seen rapid growth driven by the tech sector, though the district itself has faced declining enrollment and budget pressures, including a projected deficit that led to proposals for school closures, later scaled back after community opposition. A capital levy approved by voters in 2022 funds school construction, renovation, and technology upgrades.

Academically, Mercer International’s state testing results show a mixed picture. In English language arts, around three-fifths of students met proficiency at each grade level, a consistent performance. Math proficiency is lower and declines across grades: a little more than half of sixth graders were proficient, falling to just over half in seventh grade and dropping further in eighth grade, where the rate is lower. Science, tested only in eighth grade, shows about half of students reaching proficiency. Overall proficiency across tested subjects places the school slightly below the midpoint relative to districts in King County, a gap that a parent may want to explore with the school, particularly in math for the upper grades. Only a single year of testing data was available, so no trend direction can be assessed.

The student body is diverse and economically varied. A large share of students identify as Asian, with notable populations of Hispanic and Black students and smaller shares of White students and students of two or more races. A substantial proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a range of household incomes. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a parent interested in those services would need to ask the school directly.

As a middle school, Mercer International does not have a graduation rate. No information on discipline, course access, staffing ratios, or attendance was available in the data provided. The school’s program offerings were also not documented.

What a parent sees here is a mid-sized middle school in a large urban district with a high-cost housing market and a dynamic but financially strained school system. The school’s academic results sit around the middle of the county’s range, with stronger English language arts scores and a math performance that weakens by eighth grade. The diversity of the student body and the economic mix are plain characteristics of the school; they may suit families who value a setting that reflects the city’s broader demographics. The district’s recent budget and enrollment challenges are ongoing realities that could affect school-level resources and programming, something a parent may want to follow.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 60% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 56% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 54% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 67% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 38% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 66% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Science

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 60% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolSeattle School District No. 1, 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-income42%Higher-income66%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income49%Higher-income71%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income49%Higher-income80%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income75%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income25%Higher-income44%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income42%Higher-income72%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income69%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income60%30 pp gap