Is Vista Middle School a good school?

Vista Middle School ranks 216 th of 535 Washington middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Vista Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 536 students attended Vista Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Vista Middle School?

Students at Vista Middle School are 52% White, 25% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 7% American Indian, 5% Asian, 2% African American.

What high school do graduates of Vista Middle School attend?

Students who attend Vista Middle School usually go on to attend Ferndale High School

Vista Middle School

Summary:

Vista Middle School is a public middle school located in Ferndale, Washington, serving 572 students in grades 6-8. As part of the Ferndale School District, which is ranked 150 out of 247 districts in the state, Vista Middle School stands out with its diverse student population and strong academic performance.

Vista Middle School has a more diverse student body compared to nearby schools, with a higher percentage of Hispanic (24.13%) and Native American (8.04%) students. The school consistently ranks in the top half of Washington middle schools, earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger, which is higher than the district's overall 2-star rating. Vista Middle School's performance is particularly noteworthy for certain student subgroups, such as Native American students, who have ranked in the top 3-9 schools in the state for the past few years. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math are generally higher than the Ferndale School District average and sometimes exceed the state average, especially in 7th and 8th grade. Additionally, Vista Middle School has a relatively high per-student spending, ranging from $14,316 to $17,812 over the past few years, which is higher than the state average.

While Vista Middle School outperforms the Ferndale School District average, it lags behind some of the higher-performing nearby schools, such as Fairhaven Middle School and Kulshan Middle School in the Bellingham School District. However, Vista Middle School's consistent 3-star rating and strong performance for specific student subgroups suggest that the school is providing a relatively strong educational experience for its diverse student population, with opportunities for continued improvement, particularly in Math.

Detail:

Public 6-8

6051 Vista Drive
Ferndale, WA 98248-1328

(360) 383-9370

District: Ferndale School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
216^th of 535 Washington Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,812

Students who attend Vista Middle School usually attend:

High:

Ferndale High School

Feeder schools for Vista Middle School:

Elementary:	Beach Elementary
	Cascadia Elementary
	Central Elementary
	Skyline Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 15.6

Number of students: 536

Racial breakdown:

White:

51.9%

Hispanic:

24.8%

Two or more races:

9.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 58.2%

See top rated Washington middle schools

Compare Vista Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Vista Middle School ranks better than 59.6% of middle schools in Washington. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 55.24. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (51.9%), Hispanic (24.8%), two or more races (9.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 58.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Vista Middle School is 15.6. (See more...)

Compare Vista Middle School employs 34.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Vista Middle School is $17,812.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Vista Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Vista Middle School 216^th of 535 Washington public middle schools. (See Vista Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Ferndale School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Ferndale School District 150^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Your rating for Vista Middle School?

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Rank History for Vista Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	78.31	72^nd	421	82.9%
2005	74.87	95^th	425	77.6%
2006	79.46	69^th	449	84.6%
2007	70.85	104^th	463	77.5%
2008	61.55	161^st	466	65.5%
2009	60.66	166^th	476	65.1%
2010	68.57	126^th	483	73.9%
2011	62.44	161^st	492	67.3%
2012	64.82	155^th	497	68.8%
2013	54.49	228^th	498	54.2%
2015	28.57	320^th	445	28.1%
2016	49.15	216^th	443	51.2%
2017	44.78	239^th	435	45.1%
2018	42.71	245^th	437	43.9%
2019	41.33	306^th	512	40.2%
2021	51.48	235^th	529	55.6%
2022	56.79	197^th	541	63.6%
2023	56.38	201^st	539	62.7%
2024	55.24	216^th	535	59.6%

See the entire list of Washington Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	49.20	83^rd	166	50.0%
2019	36.89	163^rd	246	33.7%
2021	34.15	166^th	250	33.6%
2022	50.62	121^st	257	52.9%
2023	69.91	62^nd	244	74.6%
2024	33.70	163^rd	243	32.9%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	47.34	51^st	135	62.2%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	31.62	191^st	268	28.7%
2019	25.70	190^th	231	17.7%
2021	22.83	180^th	210	14.3%
2022	40.11	96^th	199	51.8%
2023	30.97	112^th	167	32.9%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	41.56	211^th	349	39.5%
2019	44.17	254^th	448	43.3%
2021	45.22	234^th	458	48.9%
2022	47.59	224^th	475	52.8%
2023	49.00	221^st	463	52.3%
2024	56.09	177^th	455	61.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	33.87	256^th	376	31.9%
2019	43.28	266^th	452	41.2%
2021	51.38	205^th	469	56.3%
2022	57.69	172^nd	479	64.1%
2023	54.01	197^th	464	57.5%
2024	52.57	203^rd	464	56.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	46.73	187^th	371	49.6%
2019	37.92	277^th	453	38.9%
2021	51.82	200^th	476	58.0%
2022	53.48	187^th	480	61.0%
2023	57.00	177^th	470	62.3%
2024	56.81	180^th	466	61.4%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	19.42	137^th	161	14.9%
2023	59.56	57^th	145	60.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	37.36	167^th	259	35.5%
2019	44.63	184^th	344	46.5%
2021	49.73	151^st	353	57.2%
2022	51.47	147^th	360	59.2%
2023	46.26	162^nd	336	51.8%
2024	45.13	172^nd	344	50.0%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Native American students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	25.82	10^th	12	16.7%
2019	81.05	2^nd	15	86.7%
2021	44.38	6^th	11	45.5%
2022	67.46	3^rd	9	66.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for White students at Vista Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	38.27	205^th	325	36.9%
2019	37.03	321^st	470	31.7%
2021	61.88	159^th	480	66.9%
2022	63.88	150^th	488	69.3%
2023	62.30	156^th	488	68.0%
2024	65.34	149^th	486	69.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle 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.

Data source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Vista Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	410	1	10	15	71	n/a	n/a	0	507
1989	450	1	7	14	55	n/a	n/a	0	527
1990	475	2	7	20	69	n/a	n/a	0	573
1991	532	4	13	21	71	n/a	n/a	0	641
1992	532	3	6	27	64	n/a	n/a	0	632
1993	536	3	4	25	73	n/a	n/a	0	641
1994	542	4	10	44	91	n/a	n/a	0	691
1995	554	4	13	39	81	n/a	n/a	0	691
1996	554	4	13	39	81	n/a	n/a	0	691
1997	568	4	8	47	91	n/a	n/a	0	718
1998	605	4	11	40	113	n/a	n/a	0	773
1999	612	2	12	38	112	n/a	n/a	0	776
2000	609	4	11	42	110	n/a	n/a	0	776
2001	337	3	5	26	54	n/a	n/a	0	425
2002	349	11	16	30	42	n/a	n/a	0	448
2003	349	11	16	30	42	n/a	n/a	0	448
2004	367	9	12	27	44	n/a	n/a	0	459
2005	368	6	5	30	29	n/a	n/a	0	438
2006	351	5	10	27	43	n/a	n/a	0	436
2007	301	9	17	27	41	n/a	n/a	1	396
2008	284	12	12	36	26	n/a	n/a	2	372
2009	276	6	15	37	33	n/a	n/a	1	368
2010	288	7	13	39	30	n/a	n/a	0	377
2011	297	8	10	59	38	0	6	0	418
2012	275	4	12	59	28	0	12	0	390
2013	285	6	16	63	26	0	18	0	414
2014	376	7	23	90	41	0	31	0	568
2015	358	5	26	99	48	1	34	0	571
2016	384	9	28	113	52	4	32	0	622
2017	370	10	28	127	43	4	37	0	619
2018	360	6	25	131	33	3	46	0	604
2019	346	5	28	122	34	2	49	1	587
2020	330	5	32	126	41	2	44	1	581
2021	290	4	27	133	44	1	48	0	547
2022	288	6	29	114	42	2	56	0	537
2023	298	10	29	138	46	2	49	0	572
2024	278	10	25	133	37	3	50	0	536

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 Vista Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	507	24.0	21.1	0
1989	527	26.0	20.2	n/a
1990	573	26.3	21.7	0
1991	641	30.1	21.2	n/a
1992	632	30.6	20.6	n/a
1993	641	31.3	20.5	n/a
1994	691	32.0	21.6	n/a
1995	691	34.1	20.3	n/a
1996	691	34.1	20.3	n/a
1997	718	33.7	21.3	n/a
1998	773	35.2	22.0	n/a
1999	776	37.8	20.5	n/a
2000	776	39.2	19.8	n/a
2001	425	41.8	10.2	n/a
2002	448	28.3	15.8	39.7
2003	448	28.3	15.8	39.7
2004	459	28.0	16.4	43.4
2005	438	27.6	15.9	40.2
2006	436	27.5	15.9	41.3
2007	396	26.4	15.0	39.2
2008	372	26.1	14.3	40.5
2009	368	26.1	14.1	42.8
2010	377	24.6	15.3	43.2
2011	418	20.2	20.6	43.1
2012	390	21.9	17.8	44.1
2013	414	20.1	20.5	44.9
2014	568	n/a	n/a	51.1
2015	571	29.0	19.6	50.4
2016	622	32.0	19.4	46.5
2017	619	31.9	19.3	46.7
2018	604	32.7	18.4	47.7
2019	587	32.8	17.8	53.5
2020	581	33.2	17.4	44.8
2021	547	31.7	17.2	45.9
2022	537	34.3	15.6	48
2023	572	35.1	16.2	60.3
2024	536	34.3	15.6	58.2

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 Vista Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	507	24.0	21.1	0
1989	527	26.0	20.2	n/a
1990	573	26.3	21.7	0
1991	641	30.1	21.2	n/a
1992	632	30.6	20.6	n/a
1993	641	31.3	20.5	n/a
1994	691	32.0	21.6	n/a
1995	691	34.1	20.3	n/a
1996	691	34.1	20.3	n/a
1997	718	33.7	21.3	n/a
1998	773	35.2	22.0	n/a
1999	776	37.8	20.5	n/a
2000	776	39.2	19.8	n/a
2001	425	41.8	10.2	n/a
2002	448	28.3	15.8	39.7
2003	448	28.3	15.8	39.7
2004	459	28.0	16.4	43.4
2005	438	27.6	15.9	40.2
2006	436	27.5	15.9	41.3
2007	396	26.4	15.0	39.2
2008	372	26.1	14.3	40.5
2009	368	26.1	14.1	42.8
2010	377	24.6	15.3	43.2
2011	418	20.2	20.6	43.1
2012	390	21.9	17.8	44.1
2013	414	20.1	20.5	44.9
2014	568	n/a	n/a	51.1
2015	571	29.0	19.6	50.4
2016	622	32.0	19.4	46.5
2017	619	31.9	19.3	46.7
2018	604	32.7	18.4	47.7
2019	587	32.8	17.8	53.5
2020	581	33.2	17.4	44.8
2021	547	31.7	17.2	45.9
2022	537	34.3	15.6	48
2023	572	35.1	16.2	60.3
2024	536	34.3	15.6	58.2

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.

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