The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Math. The lowest is 74% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Edwin R Opstad Elementary
Edwin R Opstad Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in North Bend, a town in the Cascade foothills about a half-hour drive east of Seattle. North Bend began as a logging center and has become a bedroom community for the Seattle-Bellevue corridor, with a growing tourism and recreation economy centered on outdoor activities, the North Bend Premium Outlet Mall, and a downtown strip of shops and restaurants. The population has grown steadily in recent years. Housing costs are high, reflecting the area’s desirability and proximity to the metro area. The school is part of the Snoqualmie Valley School District.
Opstad Elementary is a regular public school. Its enrollment is moderate for an elementary building serving just kindergarten through fifth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic students, students identifying as two or more races, and Asian students; other racial groups make up very small fractions. A relatively low share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which is consistent with the area’s overall affluence. Data on the share of students with disabilities or classified as English learners was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the supports available.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-2025 school year, Opstad students posted strong results overall. The school’s combined proficiency rate across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among elementary schools within King County’s school districts, a cohort of about three dozen. English language arts proficiency was solidly above the state average across all three tested grades, with rates in the mid-to-high seventies. Math proficiency varied more by grade: it was very high in fourth grade, somewhat lower in third grade, and notably lower in fifth grade, where fewer than two-thirds of students met the bar. Science, tested only in fifth grade, saw roughly three-quarters of students reach proficiency. Because the data covers only one school year, no trend is available to show whether these results represent a stable pattern or an outlier year. The dip in fifth-grade math is a specific area a parent may want to explore with the school.
As an elementary school, Opstad does not report a graduation rate or college-readiness metrics; those apply only to high schools. The school also does not report chronic absenteeism numbers, discipline data, or staffing ratios in the available records, so a parent may wish to ask about those topics during a visit or registration.
The district made a few recent changes that affect Opstad families. In 2024, the district adopted a new K-5 English Language Arts curriculum aligned with the science of reading, a shift toward evidence-based phonics and structured literacy instruction. This curriculum was piloted the previous year and is now in use across all six district elementary schools, including Opstad. In 2022, voters approved a four-year Educational Programs and Operations levy that covers a significant portion of the district’s operating budget through 2026; that levy funds teaching positions, classroom resources, extracurriculars, and student support services, and it directly affects local property taxes. More recently, in 2025, the district opened a consolidated Early Learning Center in a renovated building, using remaining capital bond funding to expand preschool and early childhood special education services for children ages three to five. That center serves families in the district, including those zoned for Opstad.
North Bend itself is a place where outdoor recreation shapes daily life. Mount Si towers over the town, and trails, the Snoqualmie River, and the Mountains to Sound Greenway are nearby. Many residents commute to Seattle or Bellevue, and the town has a compact downtown with dining and shopping. Housing is expensive, with home values well above national and state medians; the market has seen some softening in prices recently but remains high by most measures. The area has been growing, though a past water-rights moratorium briefly paused new construction until the city secured a supply agreement with Seattle Public Utilities.
Overall, Opstad Elementary offers strong academic performance relative to other schools in King County, especially in ELA and fourth-grade math, with a notable soft spot in fifth-grade math that warrants a closer look. The student body is not very economically diverse, and the surrounding community is a high-cost, growing suburb with strong outdoor amenities. The school and district have made recent moves to strengthen early literacy instruction and early childhood options, which align with current best practices. For a family already living in or moving to North Bend, this is the neighborhood elementary school serving a large share of the town’s children, and its test results put it among the stronger elementary options in the region.
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