Three Clallam County school districts have some room for improvement on their latest report cards, and two are sharing the county’s lowest overall grade.
Education review website Niche has released its 2027 Best School Districts evaluations, and the results show a noticeable divide among the five public school districts serving Clallam County.
While two districts earned grades in the B range, the remaining three received C+ or C− evaluations.
And there’s a tie at the bottom.
According to Niche’s latest Clallam County district evaluations, two districts received identical C− grades, while a third earned a C+.
But don’t let those letters fool you into thinking every part of their report cards tells the same story. One district received an A for diversity, another reported a graduation rate of 90%, and the smallest of the three posted some surprisingly strong reading scores.
Here’s a closer look at the districts receiving Niche’s lowest overall grades.
Cape Flattery School District — Overall Niche Grade: C+
Serving communities along the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, Cape Flattery School District received a C+ in Niche’s 2027 evaluations.
The district serves approximately 490 students in Neah Bay, Clallam Bay and Sekiu, with a student-teacher ratio of 12:1.
According to Niche’s Cape Flattery School District profile, 38% of students demonstrated proficiency in reading and 28% in math in the reported 2023–24 assessment data.
But here’s where the report card gets interesting.
Cape Flattery reported a 90% graduation rate, considerably stronger than some of its other academic figures might suggest.
The district also earned an A− for diversity in Niche’s 2027 evaluations.
Its official district website emphasizes culturally relevant education and partnerships with the communities it serves, including the Makah Tribe.
While the overall C+ leaves room for improvement, the district’s graduation results and diversity evaluation provide a more encouraging picture than the letter grade alone.
Quillayute Valley School District — Overall Niche Grade: C−
Over in Forks, Quillayute Valley School District received one of Clallam County’s two lowest overall grades.
And its academic numbers suggest there’s some homework to do.
The district serves approximately 3,760 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 23:1.
According to Niche’s Quillayute Valley School District report card, 40% of students demonstrated reading proficiency, while just 18% met proficiency standards in math.
Its reported graduation rate stands at 53%.
Niche assigned the district a C− for academics, although teachers received a somewhat stronger C+.
But there’s a notable bright spot.
Quillayute Valley earned an A for diversity, the strongest diversity grade among the three districts featured.
Niche also gave the district a B for administration and an A− for food.
Another important consideration: Quillayute Valley operates both traditional schools and online learning programs, including Insight School of Washington. That makes comparisons with smaller, primarily campus-based districts more complicated.
While its academic figures raise questions, Quillayute Valley’s diversity and administration grades show that its overall evaluation doesn’t tell the entire story.
Crescent School District — Overall Niche Grade: C−
Small enrollment, mixed results.
Located in Joyce, Crescent School District shares Clallam County’s lowest overall Niche grade with Quillayute Valley.
The district serves approximately 372 students and has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1.
According to Niche’s Crescent School District evaluation, 47% of students demonstrated reading proficiency, while 27% met proficiency standards in math.
Interestingly, both percentages are higher than those reported for Quillayute Valley, despite the districts receiving identical overall grades.
Crescent earned a C− for academics and administration, while teachers received a C+.
Its diversity evaluation came in at B−, as did resources and facilities.
Food received a B.
One notable limitation: Niche does not publish a district graduation rate on Crescent’s profile, making that measure unavailable for a direct comparison.
The district operates a traditional K–12 campus in Joyce and an alternative learning program called Olympic Peninsula HomeConnections.
Crescent’s reading proficiency results offer a brighter spot in an otherwise modest report card.
And that’s worth remembering: Two districts can receive the same overall grade while producing noticeably different academic results.
How Does Niche Grade School Districts?
A district’s overall grade isn’t determined by standardized test scores alone.
According to Niche’s methodology for its 2027 Best School Districts evaluations, academics account for 50% of the overall assessment.
Teacher quality contributes another 15%, while diversity and student and parent satisfaction each account for 12.5%.
Resources and facilities make up 5%, with extracurricular activities and athletics contributing 2.5% each.
The evaluations consider academic outcomes, teacher-related data, school resources and feedback from students and parents.
Those factors help explain why districts with different proficiency rates can ultimately receive identical overall grades.
Importantly, this comparison focuses on Niche’s overall letter grades rather than numerical positions in its Best School Districts rankings.
Crescent and Quillayute Valley are tied at C−, while Cape Flattery received a C+.
The reading and math proficiency figures cited in the district profiles are from Washington’s 2023–24 statewide assessments. Families can explore additional performance information through the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
How Did the Other Clallam County Districts Fare?
Not every district in Clallam County landed in the C range.
Two received stronger overall evaluations in Niche’s 2027 report cards.
Port Angeles School District earned a B−, while Sequim School District also received a B−.
That means three of the county’s five evaluated districts received grades below the B range.
Still, receiving one of the lowest grades within a county doesn’t necessarily mean a district is among Washington’s worst-performing school systems.
Clallam County’s districts vary considerably in enrollment, geography, student demographics and educational programs.
Comparing a small school district in Joyce with a larger system in Forks isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples exercise.
And Niche’s evaluations represent one organization’s assessment, not a definitive judgment on the quality of every classroom.
For families researching schools, the grades can provide a useful starting point. But individual school programs, student outcomes and community needs deserve just as much attention.
After all, there’s a lot more to a school district than the letter at the top of its report card.
