Sehome High School

Summary:

Sehome High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Bellingham, Washington, with a diverse student population of 1,163. As part of the Bellingham School District, which is ranked 86 out of 247 districts in the state, Sehome High School consistently performs at a high academic level, outshining nearby schools like Squalicum High School.

Sehome High School's academic excellence is evident in its strong test scores, with 75.97% of 10th-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the district and state averages. The school also boasts a 4-year graduation rate of 87.9%, higher than the rates at Bellingham High School and Squalicum High School. Sehome High School's performance extends across different student subgroups, ranking in the top 10% of schools in the state for both female and male students, as well as for special education and low-income students.

While Sehome High School has a relatively diverse student population, with 27.26% of students identifying as non-White, it outperforms the nearby Squalicum High School, which has a 44.45% non-White student population. Additionally, the school has seen a significant increase in spending per student, from $10,471 in 2019-2020 to $18,970 in 2021-2022, which may have contributed to its strong academic performance. However, the school has also experienced a slight increase in dropout rates, from 2.4% in 2018-2019 to 4.0% in 2022-2023, an area the school may want to monitor and address.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 2700 Bill McDonald Pkwy
       Bellingham, WA  98225-5909


(360) 676-6481

District: Bellingham School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
97th of 437 Washington High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $18,970 Help


Feeder schools for Sehome High School:

Elementary:    Carl Cozier Elementary School
    Happy Valley Elementary School
    Lowell Elementary School
    Wade King Elementary School
Middle:    Fairhaven Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  21.3 Help
Number of students:  1,163

Racial breakdown:

White:
72.7%
Hispanic:
11.1%
Two or more races:
7.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  25.3% Help


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 Compare Sehome High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Sehome High School ranks better than 77.8% of high schools in Washington. It also ranks 2nd among 4 ranked high schools in the Bellingham School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 72.03. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Sehome High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (72.7%), Hispanic (11.1%), two or more races (7.6%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 25.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Bellingham School District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Sehome High School is 21.3. 3 high schools in the Bellingham School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
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Compare Sehome High School employs 54.5 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Sehome High School is $18,970, which is the 3rd highest among 4 high schools in the Bellingham School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Sehome High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Sehome High School 97th of 437 Washington public high schools. (See Sehome High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Bellingham School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Bellingham School District 86th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Sehome High School.

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Rank History for Sehome High School

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Rank History for all students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 87.87 27th 390 93.1%
2005 82.99 48th 394 87.8%
2006 85.44 31st 395 92.2%
2007 89.57 15th 399 96.2%
2008 87.80 21st 396 94.7%
2009 86.24 30th 402 92.5%
2010 85.36 33rd 423 92.2%
2011 75.88 37th 440 91.6%
2012 76.14 40th 450 91.1%
2013 78.21 35th 454 92.3%
2015 21.67 288th 341 15.5%
2016 72.27 73rd 306 76.1%
2017 43.15 194th 301 35.5%
2018 82.59 39th 315 87.6%
2019 83.67 44th 417 89.4%
2021 80.53 65th 455 85.7%
2022 91.24 30th 434 93.1%
2023 80.92 69th 442 84.4%
2024 72.03 97th 437 77.8%
See the entire list of Washington High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 79.60 16th 91 82.4%
2019 80.11 26th 163 84.0%
2021 75.96 34th 195 82.6%
2022 91.97 6th 179 96.6%
2023 84.13 23rd 166 86.1%
2024 28.58 121st 161 24.8%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 93.14 5th 139 96.4%
2021 55.96 59th 212 72.2%
2022 73.80 22nd 130 83.1%
2023 88.36 12th 110 89.1%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 72.53 40th 227 82.4%
2019 73.49 63rd 344 81.7%
2021 52.51 161st 392 58.9%
2022 80.96 45th 370 87.8%
2023 62.38 110th 362 69.6%
2024 55.04 145th 356 59.3%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 80.05 36th 243 85.2%
2019 82.75 45th 358 87.4%
2021 78.66 57th 390 85.4%
2022 93.27 19th 368 94.8%
2023 73.16 88th 357 75.4%
2024 63.98 105th 347 69.7%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 82.90 33rd 254 87.0%
2019 83.60 42nd 355 88.2%
2021 80.14 57th 395 85.6%
2022 87.64 37th 363 89.8%
2023 83.64 46th 358 87.2%
2024 73.70 74th 362 79.6%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 52.67 58th 136 57.4%
2022 68.46 36th 124 71.0%
2023 59.48 42nd 118 64.4%
2024 31.33 80th 113 29.2%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 65.75 65th 241 73.0%
2021 57.70 96th 278 65.5%
2022 79.94 40th 261 84.7%
2023 50.71 111th 249 55.4%
2024 58.53 90th 248 63.7%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Sehome High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 79.74 36th 222 83.8%
2019 82.44 41st 382 89.3%
2021 78.16 68th 413 83.5%
2022 89.14 25th 390 93.6%
2023 78.18 64th 379 83.1%
2024 67.73 105th 374 71.9%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Sehome High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Open Quote My son loved Sehome high school and is ranked #1 in his college class, where he studies Electrical Engineering. We feel Sehome prepared him for this. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Sehome High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 1219 11 56 15 9 n/a n/a 0 1310
1989 1099 9 69 18 11 n/a n/a 0 1206
1990 1137 9 68 15 12 n/a n/a 0 1241
1991 1195 8 62 17 9 n/a n/a 0 1291
1992 1244 5 58 13 13 n/a n/a 0 1333
1993 1342 8 58 19 11 n/a n/a 0 1438
1994 1389 15 58 23 10 n/a n/a 0 1495
1995 1447 15 67 40 11 n/a n/a 0 1580
1996 1447 15 67 40 11 n/a n/a 0 1580
1997 1523 19 84 49 26 n/a n/a 0 1701
1998 1541 18 100 52 24 n/a n/a 0 1735
1999 1494 19 101 51 27 n/a n/a 0 1692
2000 1495 25 103 56 30 n/a n/a 0 1709
2001 1152 14 78 45 16 n/a n/a 0 1305
2002 1011 13 72 37 20 n/a n/a 0 1153
2003 1011 13 72 37 20 n/a n/a 0 1153
2004 968 19 55 39 15 n/a n/a 0 1096
2005 961 21 65 41 24 n/a n/a 1 1113
2006 923 17 70 50 27 n/a n/a 12 1099
2007 910 17 66 60 31 n/a n/a 21 1105
2008 917 20 69 58 32 n/a n/a 13 1109
2009 856 23 72 58 16 n/a n/a 14 1039
2010 914 29 81 68 9 n/a n/a 0 1101
2011 897 33 66 78 12 3 0 0 1089
2012 851 33 68 100 11 3 0 0 1066
2013 847 10 53 109 10 3 74 0 1106
2014 856 10 52 113 13 3 86 0 1133
2015 862 10 60 115 9 3 83 0 1142
2016 906 15 69 116 10 2 77 0 1195
2017 879 19 75 122 15 4 77 0 1191
2018 882 25 70 108 7 4 79 0 1175
2019 859 18 79 123 10 4 82 0 1175
2020 841 20 83 113 9 3 84 0 1153
2021 854 25 81 122 9 5 85 2 1183
2022 829 20 74 130 8 3 83 11 1158
2023 846 24 52 129 10 4 88 10 1163

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Sehome High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1310 60.0 21.8 0
1989 1206 58.0 20.7 n/a
1990 1241 58.5 21.2 0
1991 1291 58.0 22.2 n/a
1992 1333 59.2 22.5 n/a
1993 1438 59.8 24.0 n/a
1994 1495 62.2 24.0 n/a
1995 1580 66.5 23.8 n/a
1996 1580 66.5 23.8 n/a
1997 1701 70.0 24.3 n/a
1998 1735 72.2 24.0 n/a
1999 1692 70.4 24.0 n/a
2000 1709 73.2 23.3 n/a
2001 1305 56.6 23.1 n/a
2002 1153 51.9 22.2 16.6
2003 1153 51.9 22.2 16.6
2004 1096 51.0 21.5 18.2
2005 1113 51.3 21.7 16.9
2006 1099 52.4 21.0 18
2007 1105 51.3 21.5 18.9
2008 1109 51.1 21.7 19.4
2009 1039 51.1 20.3 22.3
2010 1101 46.1 23.8 22.9
2011 1089 49.5 22.0 20.4
2012 1066 46.9 22.7 29.5
2013 1106 44.9 24.6 28.6
2014 1133 n/a n/a 25.5
2015 1142 48.0 23.7 26.2
2016 1195 52.0 22.9 25.7
2017 1191 52.9 22.5 22.4
2018 1175 55.0 21.3 21.8
2019 1175 55.1 21.2 21.7
2020 1153 52.1 22.1 21.2
2021 1183 55.0 21.4 21.2
2022 1158 54.5 21.2 20.4
2023 1163 54.5 21.3 25.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Sehome High School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1310 60.0 21.8 0
1989 1206 58.0 20.7 n/a
1990 1241 58.5 21.2 0
1991 1291 58.0 22.2 n/a
1992 1333 59.2 22.5 n/a
1993 1438 59.8 24.0 n/a
1994 1495 62.2 24.0 n/a
1995 1580 66.5 23.8 n/a
1996 1580 66.5 23.8 n/a
1997 1701 70.0 24.3 n/a
1998 1735 72.2 24.0 n/a
1999 1692 70.4 24.0 n/a
2000 1709 73.2 23.3 n/a
2001 1305 56.6 23.1 n/a
2002 1153 51.9 22.2 16.6
2003 1153 51.9 22.2 16.6
2004 1096 51.0 21.5 18.2
2005 1113 51.3 21.7 16.9
2006 1099 52.4 21.0 18
2007 1105 51.3 21.5 18.9
2008 1109 51.1 21.7 19.4
2009 1039 51.1 20.3 22.3
2010 1101 46.1 23.8 22.9
2011 1089 49.5 22.0 20.4
2012 1066 46.9 22.7 29.5
2013 1106 44.9 24.6 28.6
2014 1133 n/a n/a 25.5
2015 1142 48.0 23.7 26.2
2016 1195 52.0 22.9 25.7
2017 1191 52.9 22.5 22.4
2018 1175 55.0 21.3 21.8
2019 1175 55.1 21.2 21.7
2020 1153 52.1 22.1 21.2
2021 1183 55.0 21.4 21.2
2022 1158 54.5 21.2 20.4
2023 1163 54.5 21.3 25.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Sehome High School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $344 (2.6%) $12,853 (97.4%) $13,197
2020 $162 (1.5%) $10,309 (98.5%) $10,471
2021 $269 (1.5%) $17,400 (98.5%) $17,668
2022 $658 (3.5%) $18,312 (96.5%) $18,970

Data source: Washington Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Sehome High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 44th of 417 High schoolsRanks 69th of 442 High schools
 5.1%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
10th Grade English Language Arts (Sehome High School)90.374.9
 15.4%
   10th Grade English Language Arts (Bellingham School District)8468.1
 15.9%
   10th Grade English Language Arts (Washington)72.865.9
 6.9%
10th Grade Math (Sehome High School)4639.9
 6%
   10th Grade Math (Bellingham School District)42.436.3
 6.1%
   10th Grade Math (Washington)42.433.3
 9.1%
11th Grade Science (Sehome High School)84.382.1
 2.2%
   11th Grade Science (Bellingham School District)65.964.1
 1.8%
   11th Grade Science (Washington)5050.5
 0.5%
All Grades English Language Arts (Sehome High School)90.374.9
 15.4%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Bellingham School District)63.755.8
 7.9%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Washington)6152.9
 8.1%
All Grades Math (Sehome High School)4639.9
 6%
   All Grades Math (Bellingham School District)46.945
 1.9%
   All Grades Math (Washington)50.141
 9%
All Grades Science (Sehome High School)84.382.1
 2.2%
   All Grades Science (Bellingham School District)60.459.2
 1.2%
   All Grades Science (Washington)52.748.8
 4%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students11751163
 1%
African American1824
 33.3%
American Indian1010
Asian7952
 34.2%
Hispanic123129
 4.9%
Pacific Islander44
White859846
 1.5%
Two or More Races8288
 7.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients21.7%25.3%
 3.6%


Schools Near Sehome High School









Frequently Asked Questions about Sehome High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 1,163 students attended Sehome High School.

Sehome High School ranks 97th of 437 Washington high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students at Sehome High School are 73% White, 11% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 2% African American.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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