Best Schools in Renton, Washington

Renton, Washington has 30 ranked public schools serving families across a meaningful range of performance levels. The city's schools average 6.7 out of 10 — a solid baseline that masks real variation from school to school. One in three schools scores 7 or higher, meaning parents who research carefully can find genuinely strong options without leaving city limits.

The elementary tier leads Renton's performance story. Sartori Elementary School tops the city at 9.3 out of 10, the highest score among all 30 ranked schools. Apollo Elementary follows at 9.0, with Maplewood Heights Elementary at 8.9. Maple Hills Elementary and Talbot Hill Elementary both land at 8.7. Five of the city's strongest schools are at the elementary level — worth noting for families with younger children who plan to stay in the district through the upper grades.

The spread from top to bottom makes proximity an unreliable shortcut. With a city average of 6.7, the difference between a neighborhood school and the highest-rated option can exceed two and a half points on a 10-point scale. Families should map their address against attendance boundaries early, then check whether Sartori — at 9.3, the clearest standout in the dataset — is accessible from their zone. The gap between that top score and the city mean is large enough that it's worth knowing before signing a lease.

Renton's 10 schools above the 7-point threshold give parents real choices, but those choices are not evenly distributed across grade levels. The concentration of high performers at the elementary tier suggests families entering kindergarten have the strongest options on the table. Parents evaluating middle and high school placements should check individual scores directly rather than leaning on the city average, which reflects a wide spread rather than a consistent floor. Start with Sartori, Apollo, and Maplewood Heights as anchors, then work outward from your specific address to understand what is realistically in range.