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What's one thing Sehome High School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,116
High
DISTRICT 642 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530042000113
Sehome High School
2700 Bill McDonald Pkwy, Bellingham, WA 98225 · (360) 676-6481 · Whatcom County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL1,116 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 41% of Washington public high schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- FThree-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 high schools
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
51 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.2:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
334 students
DISTRICT 44% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 250 | 22% |
| Grade 10 | 287 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 301 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 278 | 25% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · 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
67.3%
WA avg 58.4% . +59.4pp since 2014
Math
42.9%
WA avg 51.2% . +39.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 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 59 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 39 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 67.3% | 42.9% |
| 2023-24 | 67.6% | 30.9% |
| 2022-23 | 69.0% | 36.6% |
| 2021-22 | 84.3% | 52.1% |
| 2018-19 | 87.4% | 38.5% |
| 2017-18 | 88.1% | 70.5% |
| 2016-17 | 10.5% | 7.3% |
| 2015-16 | 27.1% | 25.0% |
| 2014-15 | 7.9% | 3.5% |
% 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
50.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.1%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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 Sehome High School
Sehome High School's state test result (50.2% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sehome High School this school | 1,116 | 29.9% | 50.2% |
| Tumwater High School Tumwater | 1,117 | 30.6% | 49.2% |
| A G West Black Hills High School Tumwater | 753 | 31.2% | 47.5% |
| Stanwood High School STANWOOD | 1,384 | 31.0% | 47.3% |
| North Kitsap High School Poulsbo | 1,098 | 27.8% | 53.9% |
| Klahowya Secondary SILVERDALE | 1,016 | 32.0% | 45.7% |
Matched among Washington high 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 Sehome High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Whatcom County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.2% | #78 of 271 | #4 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.9% | #63 of 321 ▲ 69 | #1 of 10 ▲ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.3% | #97 of 327 ▲ 10 | #3 of 10 ▲ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -13.2pp | #10 of 259 | #1 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,116 | #143 of 570 | #4 of 18 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.8:1 | #215 of 311 | #7 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.9% | #218 of 316 | #9 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 29.9% | #330 of 386 | #11 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.0% | #118 of 164 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,116
-67 (-6%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 1,291
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
was 21.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,116 | 51.1 | 21.8:1 | 30% (334) |
| 2023-24 | 1,175 | 50.5 | 23.3:1 | 29% (343) |
| 2022-23 | 1,163 | 54.6 | 21.3:1 | 25% (294) |
| 2020-21 | 1,183 | 55 | 21.5:1 | 21% (251) |
| 2017-18 | 1,175 | 55 | 21.4:1 | 22% (256) |
| 2015-16 | 1,195 | 52 | 23.0:1 | 26% (307) |
| 2010-11 | 1,089 | 49 | 22.2:1 | 20% (222) |
| 2000-01 | 1,305 | 56 | 23.3:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,291 | 58 | 22.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sehome High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (1,175 to 1,116); teachers down 7% (55 to 51.1).
About Sehome High School
Sehome High School is a high school in Bellingham, Washington, and it is part of Bellingham School District. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 1,116 students in grades 9 through 12. Against the 573-student average for high schools in Washington, enrollment here is 95% higher.
Sehome High School falls under Bellingham School District, which has 25 schools enrolling 11,337 students.
White students make up a majority at Sehome High School, at 69%. The remaining students are 12% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 5% Asian, and 2% Black. Census figures show Whatcom County is about 78% White. Pick two students at random and there is a 48% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The teaching staff at Sehome High School is 51.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 21.8:1. That matches the 21.6:1 average for high schools in Washington fairly closely. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 30%. The 47% average for public schools in Whatcom County is 17 points higher.
allk12 grades Sehome High School a C+. The grade compares the school only with Washington public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Sehome High School is 10.0 points below its prediction. Actual: 50.2%. Predicted: 60.1%.
Whatcom County census figures show that the median household income is $81,784, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Whatcom County is home to 78 public schools and about 27,779 public school students.
Of nearby public schools, Happy Valley Elementary School is the closest, at about 0.4 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Sehome High School. Of 7 schools in the immediate area with test results, Sehome High School ranks 6th on average proficiency.
The federal government classifies Sehome High School's location as City: Small.
Enrollment is down 6% from 2020-21, when Sehome High School had 1,183 students, to 2024-25, when it had 1,116.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Whatcom County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
230,503
Census ACS
Median income
$81,784
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
78
27,779 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bellingham School District
- Squalicum High SchoolHigh · 1,273 students
- Bellingham High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Whatcom Middle SchoolMiddle · 637 students
- Shuksan Middle SchoolMiddle · 606 students
- Fairhaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 588 students
- Kulshan Middle SchoolMiddle · 575 students
Other schools in Bellingham
- Squalicum High SchoolHigh · 1,273 students
- Bellingham High SchoolHigh · 1,165 students
- Whatcom Middle SchoolMiddle · 637 students
- Shuksan Middle SchoolMiddle · 606 students
- Fairhaven Middle SchoolMiddle · 588 students
- Kulshan Middle SchoolMiddle · 575 students
Nearby schools
- Happy Valley Elementary School0.4 mi · 455
- Bellingham Family Partnership Program0.9 mi · 258
- Lowell Elementary School0.9 mi · 338
- Fairhaven Middle School1.4 mi · 588
- Carl Cozier Elementary School1.5 mi · 325
- Whatcom Co Detention Center1.9 mi · 4
Frequently asked questions
About Sehome High SchoolHow many students attend Sehome High School?
Sehome High School enrolls approximately 1,116 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Sehome High School serve?
Sehome High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sehome High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Sehome High School is approximately 21.8:1 (51 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Sehome High School?
At Sehome High School, the student body is approximately 69% White, 12% Hispanic, 2% Black, 5% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Sehome High School public or private?
Sehome High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Bellingham School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.