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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Cougar Mountain Middle School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
616
Middle
DISTRICT 739 · STATE 577
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ISSAQUAH SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530375003795
Cougar Mountain Middle School
1929 NW Talus Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027 · (253) 683-8000 · King County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL616 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of Washington public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Washington public middle schools
Student : Teacher
19.8:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.4:1 · STATE 18.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
12%
76 students
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 199 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 215 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 202 | 33% |
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 68% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
78.8%
WA avg 58.4% . +1.2pp since 2021
Math
71.4%
WA avg 51.2% . +4.3pp since 2021
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 79 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 78.8% | 71.4% |
| 2023-24 | 71.8% | 68.1% |
| 2022-23 | 72.8% | 67.0% |
| 2021-22 | 77.6% | 67.1% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
71.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.9%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 72% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Washington's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Cougar Mountain Middle School
Cougar Mountain Middle School's state test result (71.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cougar Mountain Middle School this school | 616 | 12.3% | 71.4% |
| Leota Middle School Woodinville | 858 | 17.4% | 64.8% |
| Tillicum Middle School Bellevue | 676 | 19.8% | 67.7% |
| Rose Hill Middle School Redmond | 901 | 14.7% | 72.9% |
| Pacific Cascade Middle School Issaquah | 605 | 10.7% | 75.3% |
| Islander Middle School Mercer Island | 960 | 7.8% | 74.4% |
Matched among Washington middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Cougar Mountain Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In King County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.4% | #20 of 294 | #16 of 76 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.4% | #17 of 357 ▲ 1 | #14 of 76 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 78.8% | #16 of 357 ▲ 17 | #13 of 76 ▲ 12 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.8pp | #128 of 290 | #33 of 75 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 616 | #188 of 377 | #58 of 80 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.8:1 | #205 of 340 | #38 of 76 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.1% | #86 of 340 | #38 of 76 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 12.3% | #346 of 359 | #65 of 77 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 616 | 31.1 | 19.8:1 | 12% (76) |
| 2023-24 | 621 | 31.3 | 19.9:1 | 14% (85) |
| 2022-23 | 628 | 24.1 | 26.1:1 | 11% (70) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cougar Mountain Middle School.
About Cougar Mountain Middle School
The public middle school Cougar Mountain Middle School is located in Issaquah, Washington. Enrolled students number 616 students, in grades 6 through 8.
Cougar Mountain Middle School is one of 30 schools in Issaquah School District, which enrolls 19,098 students in total.
Cougar Mountain Middle School's enrollment has no majority group, and White students are the largest at 42%. Smaller groups are 34% Asian, 11% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, and 4% Black. County-wide, 55% of King County residents are White. The chance that two students picked at random at Cougar Mountain Middle School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 69%.
Teachers at Cougar Mountain Middle School total 31.1 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 19.8:1. The 18.9:1 average for middle schools in Washington is lower than this school's figure. The school counts 76 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 12%. That is 26 points below the 38% average for public schools in King County.
Measured against Washington public middle schools, Cougar Mountain Middle School receives an A. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On BeatsExpectations, Cougar Mountain Middle School is within a point of its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Washington schools.
King County has about 2,287,171 residents, and median household income is about $124,746, 57% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. The public schools of King County number 544 and enroll about 278,492.
Issaquah Valley Elementary is the public school closest to Cougar Mountain Middle School, about 0.9 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. On average proficiency, Cougar Mountain Middle School is 1st of 6 nearby schools with test data.
Cougar Mountain Middle School falls in the Suburb: Large locale category, used for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Cougar Mountain Middle School covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
King County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,287,171
Census ACS
Median income
$124,746
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
544
278,492 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Issaquah School District
- Issaquah High SchoolHigh · 2,419 students
- Skyline High SchoolHigh · 2,244 students
- Liberty Sr High SchoolHigh · 1,495 students
- Pine Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 877 students
- Maywood Middle SchoolMiddle · 826 students
- Issaquah Middle SchoolMiddle · 808 students
Other schools in Issaquah
- Issaquah High SchoolHigh · 2,419 students
- Issaquah Middle SchoolMiddle · 808 students
- Beaver Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 699 students
- Issaquah Valley ElementaryElementary · 646 students
- Pacific Cascade Middle SchoolMiddle · 605 students
- Clark ElementaryElementary · 586 students
Other Cougar Mountain Middle schools
One other US public school is named Cougar Mountain Middle. Cougar Mountain Middle School is the largest of the 2.
- Cougar Mountain Middle SchoolGraham, WA · 605 students
Nearby schools
- Issaquah Valley Elementary0.9 mi · 646
- Issaquah Preschool Academy1.1 mi · 42
- Holly Street Early Learning Center1.1 mi · 89
- Clark Elementary1.4 mi · 586
- Gibson Ek High School1.5 mi · 198
- Issaquah Middle School1.7 mi · 808
Frequently asked questions
About Cougar Mountain Middle SchoolHow many students attend Cougar Mountain Middle School?
Cougar Mountain Middle School enrolls approximately 616 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Cougar Mountain Middle School serve?
Cougar Mountain Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Cougar Mountain Middle School?
Approximately 19.8:1 students per teacher at Cougar Mountain Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Cougar Mountain Middle School?
At Cougar Mountain Middle School, the student body is approximately 42% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% Black, 34% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Cougar Mountain Middle School public or private?
Cougar Mountain Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Issaquah School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.