1
What's the one class at Birney Elementary School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
476
Elementary
DISTRICT 356 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530870001455
Birney Elementary School
7627 South Sheridan Ave, Tacoma, WA 98408 · (253) 571-4600 · Pierce County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL476 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.2:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
341 students
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 51%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 37 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 68 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 81 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 72 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 72 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (72).
Student demographics
80%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 68% · 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
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
30.6%
WA avg 58.4% . -5.0pp since 2014
Math
19.9%
WA avg 51.2% . -13.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 20 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are down about 5 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 14 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 30.6% | 19.9% |
| 2023-24 | 27.8% | 21.5% |
| 2022-23 | 23.8% | 22.1% |
| 2021-22 | 30.9% | 20.4% |
| 2018-19 | 36.6% | 27.8% |
| 2017-18 | 36.5% | 27.8% |
| 2016-17 | 32.7% | 26.5% |
| 2015-16 | 38.0% | 32.6% |
| 2014-15 | 35.7% | 33.5% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. 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
26.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.1%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% typical for Washington 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 Washington'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 Birney Elementary School
Birney Elementary School's state test result (26.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birney Elementary School this school | 476 | 71.6% | 26.9% |
| Star Lake Elementary School KENT | 434 | 70.0% | 41.0% |
| Nautilus K-8 School FEDERAL WAY | 469 | 66.3% | 44.3% |
| Helen Stafford Elementary School Tacoma | 453 | 74.4% | 30.0% |
| Olivia Park Elementary Everett | 559 | 73.5% | 36.3% |
| Woodmont K-8 School DES MOINES | 402 | 70.9% | 34.5% |
Matched among Washington 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 Birney Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 26.9% | #851 of 936 | #137 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 19.9% | #1,041 of 1,103 ▼ 34 | #139 of 142 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.6% | #928 of 1,102 ▲ 41 | #127 of 142 ▲ 6 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.4pp | #363 of 928 | #64 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 476 | #359 of 1,268 | #55 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #210 of 1,085 | #18 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 80.3% | #16 of 1,088 | #8 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 71.6% | #229 of 1,169 | #22 of 148 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.9% | #129 of 257 | #22 of 43 |
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
476
+65 (+16%) vs 2020
-8% since 1990-91, when it was 515
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 14.2:1
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 | 476 | 33.1 | 14.4:1 | 72% (341) |
| 2023-24 | 489 | 33 | 14.8:1 | 76% (370) |
| 2022-23 | 451 | 30.2 | 14.9:1 | 72% (323) |
| 2020-21 | 411 | 29 | 14.2:1 | 69% (283) |
| 2017-18 | 433 | 29.3 | 14.8:1 | 72% (313) |
| 2015-16 | 424 | 30 | 14.1:1 | 81% (342) |
| 2010-11 | 331 | 24 | 13.8:1 | 61% (203) |
| 2000-01 | 496 | 27 | 18.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 515 | 28 | 18.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Birney Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 10% (433 to 476); teachers up 13% (29.3 to 33.1).
About Birney Elementary School
Located in Tacoma, Washington, Birney Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school. It had 476 students in 2024-25, spanning pre-K through 5. That compares with an average of about 380 students for elementary schools in Washington.
Birney Elementary School is one school in a 66-school district, Tacoma School District, which enrolls 28,900 students.
The largest group at Birney Elementary School is Hispanic students, at 30%. Smaller groups are 21% White, 14% multiracial, 13% Asian, and 12% Black. For comparison, the population of Pierce County is roughly 13% Hispanic. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Birney Elementary School scores 80%.
The school lists 33.1 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.4:1. Statewide, elementary schools in Washington average 17.3:1. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 72% of the student body. On average, public schools in Pierce County report 50%.
The model predicts 32.1% for a school in Washington with Birney Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Birney Elementary School posts 26.9%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Pierce County show that median household income comes to about $99,564, roughly 31% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. The county's public schools total 287, with about 138,462 students.
Birney Elementary School's closest public school neighbor is Baker Middle School, about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles of Birney Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Birney Elementary School is 8th of 9 on proficiency.
Locale: City: Mid-size. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
From 411 students in 2020-21, enrollment increased to 476 by 2024-25.
This page is set up for the Birney Elementary School community to discuss open houses, carpools, and field trips. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Pierce County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
930,319
Census ACS
Median income
$99,564
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
287
138,462 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tacoma School District
- Stadium High SchoolHigh · 1,700 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,556 students
- Mount Tahoma High SchoolHigh · 1,410 students
- Dr. Dolores Silas High SchoolHigh · 1,160 students
- Baker Middle SchoolMiddle · 687 students
- Tacoma School of the ArtsHigh · 658 students
Other schools in Tacoma
- Stadium High SchoolHigh · 1,700 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,556 students
- Mount Tahoma High SchoolHigh · 1,410 students
- Dr. Dolores Silas High SchoolHigh · 1,160 students
- Washington High SchoolHigh · 989 students
- Franklin Pierce High SchoolHigh · 977 students
Other Birney Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 3 states are named Birney Elementary. Birney Elementary School is the 5th largest of the 6.
- Birney ElementaryFresno, CA · 731 students
- Birney Elementary SchoolMarietta, GA · 725 students
- Birney ElementarySan Diego, CA · 535 students
- Birney ElementaryLong Beach, CA · 501 students
- Birney ElementaryRedondo Beach, CA · 432 students
Nearby schools
- Baker Middle School0.4 mi · 687
- Fern Hill Elementary School0.7 mi · 311
- Industrial Design Engineering and Arts0.8 mi · 392
- Helen Stafford Elementary School0.9 mi · 453
- Arlington Elementary School1.1 mi · 390
- Larchmont Elementary School1.3 mi · 303
Frequently asked questions
About Birney Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Birney Elementary School?
Birney Elementary School enrolls approximately 476 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Birney Elementary School serve?
Birney Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Birney Elementary School?
Approximately 14.4:1 students per teacher at Birney Elementary School.
How diverse is Birney Elementary School?
Birney Elementary School reports a student body of 21% White, 30% Hispanic, 12% Black, 13% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Is Birney Elementary School public or private?
Birney Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Tacoma School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.