1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Washington Elementary right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
477
Elementary
DISTRICT 355 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED·NCES 060141406032
Washington Elementary
290 Lighthouse Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93109 · (805) 965-6653 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL477 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of California public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.2:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
196 students
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 85 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 45 | 9% |
| Grade 2 | 68 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 62 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 68 | 14% |
| Grade 6 | 77 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (85) is 10% larger than its 6th grade class (77).
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
62.1%
CA avg 49.1% . -7.9pp since 2014
Math
56.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -7.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 8 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 8 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 35.5% | 26.6% | 16.0% | 22.0% |
| Math | 33.6% | 22.9% | 23.6% | 20.0% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.1% | 56.4% |
| 2023-24 | 58.8% | 55.1% |
| 2022-23 | 57.8% | 47.4% |
| 2021-22 | 57.7% | 50.3% |
| 2018-19 | 70.7% | 71.2% |
| 2017-18 | 73.7% | 69.5% |
| 2016-17 | 72.9% | 66.0% |
| 2015-16 | 72.0% | 66.0% |
| 2014-15 | 70.0% | 64.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
58.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 55% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Washington Elementary
Washington Elementary's state test result (58.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Elementary this school | 477 | 41.1% | 58.7% |
| James Dukes Elementary Ramona | 502 | 39.2% | 58.0% |
| Ventura Charter School of Arts and Global Education Ventura | 455 | 37.4% | N/A |
| Ocean Knoll Elementary Encinitas | 479 | 37.0% | 58.6% |
| Marguerite Hahn Elementary Rohnert Park | 478 | 40.0% | 49.0% |
| C. W. Dillard Elementary Wilton | 443 | 42.9% | 57.8% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Washington Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 58.7% | #1,187 of 5,151 | #11 of 66 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.4% | #1,234 of 5,172 ▼ 10 | #11 of 66 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.1% | #1,199 of 5,172 ▲ 113 | #12 of 66 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +5.3pp | #1,543 of 5,116 | #10 of 66 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 477 | #2,708 of 5,915 | #32 of 75 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #81 of 5,352 | #4 of 63 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.6% | #1,548 of 5,354 | #5 of 63 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 41.1% | #4,291 of 5,625 | #55 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.9% | #1,648 of 3,837 | #13 of 47 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
477
-84 (-15%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
was 20.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 477 | 28.9 | 16.5:1 | 41% (196) |
| 2023-24 | 486 | 27.9 | 17.4:1 | 45% (219) |
| 2022-23 | 524 | 29 | 18.1:1 | 46% (241) |
| 2020-21 | 561 | 27 | 20.8:1 | 41% (231) |
| 2017-18 | 581 | 23 | 25.3:1 | 40% (230) |
| 2015-16 | 602 | 23 | 26.2:1 | 33% (199) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Washington Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (581 to 477); teachers up 26% (23 to 28.9).
About Washington Elementary
Washington Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Santa Barbara Unified, located in Santa Barbara, California. The school enrolls 477 students, from kindergarten through 6.
Santa Barbara Unified is responsible for 20 schools, Washington Elementary included, with 12,247 students in all.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Washington Elementary is White (48%). Other groups make up 35% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, and 2% Asian. County-wide, about 48% of residents are White. The chance that two students picked at random at Washington Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 63%.
Washington Elementary's 28.9 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 16.5:1. For comparison, elementary schools in California average 22.3:1. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 41%. That is 27 points below the 68% average for public schools in Santa Barbara County.
The allk12 Grade for Washington Elementary is A-. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 75% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Washington Elementary is +3.2 points: 58.7% actual, 55.5% predicted.
According to the American Community Survey, in Santa Barbara County, median household income is about $98,161, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Washington Elementary is one of 129 public schools in Santa Barbara County, which together enroll about 66,191 students.
Nearby, Olive Grove Charter - Santa Barbara is about 0.3 miles away. Washington Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Washington Elementary's average proficiency of 58.7% compares with 33.0% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Its NCES locale code is City: Small: the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment was 561 in 2020-21 and 477 in 2024-25, a decrease of 84 students. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 20.8:1 to 16.5:1.
Posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Santa Barbara County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
443,701
Census ACS
Median income
$98,161
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
66,191 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Santa Barbara Unified
- Dos Pueblos Senior HighHigh · 2,149 students
- San Marcos Senior HighHigh · 1,926 students
- Santa Barbara Senior HighHigh · 1,924 students
- La Colina Junior HighMiddle · 832 students
- Goleta Valley Junior HighMiddle · 731 students
- Santa Barbara Junior HighMiddle · 512 students
Other schools in Santa Barbara
- San Marcos Senior HighHigh · 1,926 students
- Santa Barbara Senior HighHigh · 1,924 students
- La Colina Junior HighMiddle · 832 students
- Peabody CharterElementary · 780 students
- Santa Barbara Junior HighMiddle · 512 students
- Adams ElementaryElementary · 469 students
Other Washington Elementary schools
155 other US public schools in 28 states are named Washington Elementary. Washington Elementary is the 27th largest of the 156.
- Washington ElementaryRiverside, CA · 818 students
- Washington ElementaryRedondo Beach, CA · 776 students
- Washington ElementaryLindsay, CA · 730 students
- Washington ElementaryMontebello, CA · 685 students
- Washington ElementaryPomona, CA · 645 students
Nearby schools
- Olive Grove Charter - Santa Barbara0.3 mi · 74
- Monroe Elementary0.7 mi · 315
- Harding University Partnership1.2 mi · 364
- McKinley Elementary1.3 mi · 293
- Santa Barbara Community Academy1.8 mi · 221
- La Cumbre Junior High1.8 mi · 426
Frequently asked questions
About Washington ElementaryHow large is Washington Elementary?
Washington Elementary enrolls approximately 477 students in grades KG-06.
Is Washington Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Washington Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-06.
How many students per teacher at Washington Elementary?
Approximately 16.5:1 students per teacher at Washington Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Washington Elementary?
At Washington Elementary, the student body is approximately 48% White, 35% Hispanic, 0% Black, 2% Asian, 14% Two or more.
What district is Washington Elementary in?
Washington Elementary is part of Santa Barbara Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.