Enrollment
166
Combined
STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLTON SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530150000277
Colton School
706 Union, Colton, WA 99113 · (509) 229-3386 · Whitman County
GRADES PK–12COMBINED42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL166 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
15 FTE teachers
STATE 33.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
49 students
STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 12 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 27 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 13 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 13 | 8% |
| Grade 3 | 10 | 6% |
| Grade 4 | 11 | 7% |
| Grade 5 | 8 | 5% |
| Grade 6 | 18 | 11% |
| Grade 7 | 10 | 6% |
| Grade 8 | 14 | 8% |
| Grade 9 | 6 | 4% |
| Grade 10 | 8 | 5% |
| Grade 11 | 9 | 5% |
| Grade 12 | 7 | 4% |
This year's kindergarten class (27) is 93% larger than its 8th grade class (14).
Student demographics
15%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
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
42.0%
WA avg 58.4% . -17.2pp since 2014
Math
35.8%
WA avg 51.2% . -16.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 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 17 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 17 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.0% | 35.8% |
| 2023-24 | 56.8% | 46.0% |
| 2022-23 | 55.7% | 37.1% |
| 2021-22 | 53.5% | 45.4% |
| 2018-19 | 63.6% | 48.9% |
| 2017-18 | 77.0% | 63.5% |
| 2016-17 | 58.9% | 61.7% |
| 2015-16 | 68.0% | 51.8% |
| 2014-15 | 59.1% | 52.7% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
46.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.4%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 60% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Colton School
Colton School's state test result (46.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colton School this school | 166 | 29.5% | 46.7% |
| Rosalia Elementary & Secondary School Rosalia | 163 | 44.2% | 40.0% |
| Crescent School Port Angeles | 228 | 51.3% | N/A |
| Catalyst Public Schools Bremerton | 504 | 37.7% | 45.5% |
| Thorp Elem & Jr Sr High THORP | 247 | 53.8% | 33.8% |
| Klickitat Elem & High Klickitat | 71 | 52.1% | 30.2% |
Matched among Washington K-12 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 Colton School ranks
Among K-12 schools| Measure | This school | In Washington |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.7% | #1 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.8% | #2 of 20 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #6 of 20 ▼ 5 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -10.5pp | #2 of 14 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 166 | #36 of 116 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 29.5% | #49 of 60 |
Ranked against other public K-12 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
166
-2 (-1%) vs 2020
-7% since 1990-91, when it was 178
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
was 11.2:1
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 | 166 | 15 | 11.0:1 | 30% (49) |
| 2023-24 | 155 | 15.2 | 10.2:1 | 30% (47) |
| 2022-23 | 150 | 15.8 | 9.5:1 | 33% (50) |
| 2020-21 | 168 | 15 | 11.2:1 | 30% (51) |
| 2017-18 | 159 | 14.7 | 10.8:1 | 25% (40) |
| 2015-16 | 159 | 13 | 12.2:1 | 22% (35) |
| 2010-11 | 171 | 14 | 12.2:1 | 20% (34) |
| 2000-01 | 179 | 13 | 13.8:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 178 | 13 | 13.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Colton School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (159 to 166); teachers up 2% (14.7 to 15).
About Colton School
Colton School is a combined-grade school located in Colton, Washington, in Whitman County. It educates 166 students in pre-K through 12.
Federal records list Colton School District as the district for Colton School.
Federal enrollment data show Colton School is 92% White. Enrollment also includes 6% Hispanic. The school's White share is 15 points above the 76% share among Whitman County residents. Colton School's diversity index is 15%, against a US figure of 70%.
Its teaching staff equals 15 full-time positions, a ratio of 11.0:1. That is lower than the 33.2:1 average for combined schools in Washington. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 30%. That is 10 points below the 40% average for public schools in Whitman County.
Colton School scores 13.7 points below its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests: 46.7% actual versus 60.4% predicted. That puts it in the bottom 10% of Washington schools on BeatsExpectations.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Whitman County show that the median household income is $55,406, roughly 50% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Colton School is one of 28 public schools in the county.
GENESEE SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 9.6 miles away.
NCES describes the area around Colton School as Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment went from 168 in 2020-21 to 166 in 2024-25, a change of 2 students.
Parents and students can post about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater at Colton School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Whitman County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
47,003
Census ACS
Median income
$55,406
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
50%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
4,753 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- GENESEE SCHOOL9.6 mi · 288
- Franklin Elementary10.6 mi · 274
- Lincoln Middle School10.7 mi · 643
- Grantham Elementary10.9 mi · 252
- Discovery Virtual School11.3 mi · 98
- Special Services11.3 mi · 54
Frequently asked questions
About Colton SchoolHow large is Colton School?
Colton School enrolls approximately 166 students in grades PK-12.
What age range does Colton School serve?
Colton School serves students from grade PK through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Colton School?
Approximately 11.0:1 students per teacher at Colton School.
How diverse is Colton School?
Colton School reports a student body of 92% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Colton School?
Colton School is overseen by Colton School District in Whitman County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.