Best private high schools in Washington

Written by:
April 21, 2023
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Best private high schools in Washington

Private schools, in some form, existed long before the concept of free public education in America. Students were often educated through church-sponsored programs, private tutoring, and boarding schools. Public schools on a large scale were proposed by Horace Mann in the 1830s. The concept gained momentum, and by 1870, nearly 80% of kids aged 5 to 14 were enrolled in public schools. Today, according to the most recent enrollment data, about 4.7 million students—or 10% of students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12—are enrolled in private schools.

Private schools are widely marketed as a better option when compared to public schools, and private school proponents will often point to standardized test scores to substantiate this claim. While private school students have consistently outperformed public school students on standardized tests, recent studies have shown private schools themselves are not the primary driver of success, nor are standardized tests the most accurate measure of student well-being.

Researchers have found that student success is more directly related to family attributes, like having parents who graduated from college, and higher incomes—more common amongst private school students than public school students—than simply whether the students attended a public or private school.

Still, private schools provide unique advantages and opportunities like smaller class sizes, more individualized instruction, and greater curricular flexibility. To better understand how private school offerings vary across the country, Stacker compiled a list of the best private high schools in Washington using 2023 rankings from Niche. Niche uses eight weighted factors for its rankings. A majority of the score is based on academics and grades, but other factors include culture and diversity, health and safety, clubs and activities, resources, and surveys of parents, teachers and students.

Editor's note: The original article had inaccuracies when multiple schools in Washington had the same name. In most of these instances, the wrong data was displayed in the ranking. Stacker sincerely apologizes for the errors.

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#30. O'Dea High School

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 490 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#29. Tri-Cities Prep Catholic High School

- District: Pasco
- Enrollment: 203 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#28. Archbishop Murphy High School

- District: Everett
- Enrollment: 432 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#27. King's Schools

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 1,346 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#26. Hillside Student Community School

- District: Bellevue
- Enrollment: 39 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#25. Seattle Waldorf School

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 318 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#24. Pope John Paul II High School

- District: Lacey
- Enrollment: 102 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#23. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic High School

- District: Vancouver
- Enrollment: 188 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#22. Bellevue Christian School

- District: Clyde Hill
- Enrollment: 1,050 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#21. Gonzaga Preparatory School

- City: Spokane
- Enrollment: 834 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#20. Spring Street International School

- District: Friday Harbor
- Enrollment: 122 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#19. West Sound Academy

- District: Poulsbo
- Enrollment: 85 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#18. Bellarmine Preparatory School

- District: Tacoma
- Enrollment: 897 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#17. Bishop Blanchet High School

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 854 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#16. Saint George's School

- City: Spokane
- Enrollment: 379 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#15. Eastside Catholic School

- District: Sammamish
- Enrollment: 865 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#14. Holy Names Academy

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 570 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#13. Northwest Yeshiva High School

- District: Mercer Island
- Enrollment: 53 (2:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#12. Seattle Preparatory School

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 720 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#11. The Bear Creek School

- District: Redmond
- Enrollment: 908 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#10. Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart

- District: Bellevue
- Enrollment: 300 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#9. The Northwest School

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 452 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#8. Charles Wright Academy

- District: Tacoma
- Enrollment: 557 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#7. The Bush School

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 629 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#6. Annie Wright Schools

- District: Tacoma
- Enrollment: 749 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#5. Seattle Academy

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 1,115 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#4. University Prep

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 628 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#3. Eastside Preparatory School

- District: Kirkland
- Enrollment: 428 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#2. The Overlake School

- District: Redmond
- Enrollment: 529 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#1. Lakeside School

- City: Seattle
- Enrollment: 838 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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