1
What's the most underrated thing about Curtis Senior High that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,321
High
DISTRICT 1,113 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·UNIVERSITY PLACE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530918001549
Curtis Senior High
8425 40TH W, UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA 98466 · (253) 566-5710 · Pierce County
GRADES 10–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,321 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 97% of Washington public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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 Washington public high schools
Student : Teacher
24.9:1
53 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.7:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
486 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 10 | 486 | 37% |
| Grade 11 | 403 | 31% |
| Grade 12 | 432 | 33% |
Student demographics
75%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within University Place School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
80.2%
WA avg 58.4% . +65.2pp since 2014
Math
50.5%
WA avg 51.2% . +40.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are up about 65 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 40 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.2% | 50.5% |
| 2023-24 | 84.0% | 51.2% |
| 2022-23 | 75.3% | 48.3% |
| 2021-22 | 77.7% | 48.4% |
| 2018-19 | 79.5% | 58.6% |
| 2017-18 | 81.6% | 55.1% |
| 2016-17 | 41.8% | 28.8% |
| 2015-16 | 36.4% | 50.1% |
| 2014-15 | 15.0% | 10.2% |
% 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
62.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.5%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 56% 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 Curtis Senior High
Curtis Senior High's state test result (62.9% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curtis Senior High this school | 1,321 | 36.8% | 62.9% |
| Nathan Hale High School SEATTLE | 1,052 | 38.8% | 49.9% |
| Curtis Junior High UNIVERSITY PLACE | 904 | 39.4% | 57.1% |
| Mountlake Terrace High School MTLK TERRACE | 1,456 | 36.3% | 41.8% |
| Shorecrest High School Shoreline | 1,565 | 32.1% | 62.4% |
| Edmonds Woodway High School EDMONDS | 1,605 | 39.6% | 43.4% |
Matched among Washington high 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 Curtis Senior High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.9% | #23 of 271 | #1 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 50.5% | #37 of 321 ▼ 5 | #3 of 32 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.2% | #34 of 327 ▼ 18 | #3 of 33 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.3pp | #80 of 259 | #10 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,321 | #122 of 570 | #15 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.9:1 | #299 of 311 | #32 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 74.7% | #33 of 316 | #10 of 35 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.8% | #292 of 386 | #31 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.6% | #98 of 164 | #9 of 15 |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,321
-60 (-4%) vs 2020
+32% since 1990-91, when it was 1,003
Student : Teacher
24.9:1
was 23.4:1
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 | 1,321 | 53.1 | 24.9:1 | 37% (486) |
| 2023-24 | 1,303 | 53.7 | 24.3:1 | 39% (503) |
| 2022-23 | 1,349 | 58.5 | 23.1:1 | 38% (517) |
| 2020-21 | 1,381 | 59 | 23.4:1 | 29% (405) |
| 2017-18 | 1,414 | 60.2 | 23.5:1 | 33% (464) |
| 2015-16 | 1,456 | 64 | 22.8:1 | 36% (518) |
| 2010-11 | 1,393 | 64 | 21.8:1 | 28% (390) |
| 2000-01 | 1,371 | 65 | 21.1:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,003 | 48 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Curtis Senior High.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (1,414 to 1,321); teachers down 12% (60.2 to 53.1).
About Curtis Senior High
Curtis Senior High, located in UNIVERSITY PLACE, Washington, is a large high school. It reports enrollment of 1,321 students in grades 10 through 12. That puts enrollment 131% above the 573-student average for high schools in Washington.
Curtis Senior High is in University Place School District, a district with 5,635 students across 8 schools.
White students make up 41% of enrollment at Curtis Senior High, the largest share of any group. The remaining shares are 18% Hispanic, 16% multiracial, 12% Black, and 12% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Pierce County's population at about 64%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 75%.
There are 53.1 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 24.9:1. Across high schools in Washington, the average ratio is 21.6:1. Of all students at Curtis Senior High, 37% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 13 points below the 50% average for public schools in Pierce County.
Curtis Senior High holds an A+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 97% of Washington public high schools.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Curtis Senior High is 7.4 points above its prediction. Actual: 62.9%. Predicted: 55.5%.
The school's county is Pierce County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $99,564 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 31% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. Public schools in Pierce County number 287, with about 138,462 students.
Curtis Senior High's closest public school neighbor is Curtis Junior High, about 0.2 miles away. Within five miles of Curtis Senior High, there are at least 8 other public schools. Its average proficiency rate of 62.9% is above the 62.4% average for nearby schools.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was 1,321 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 1,381. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 23.4:1 to 24.9:1.
People who know Curtis Senior High can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
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 University Place School District
- Curtis Junior HighHigh · 904 students
- Narrows View IntermediateMiddle · 692 students
- Drum IntermediateMiddle · 639 students
- Sunset PrimaryElementary · 548 students
- University Place PrimaryElementary · 522 students
- Evergreen PrimaryElementary · 516 students
Other schools in UNIVERSITY PLACE
- Curtis Junior HighHigh · 904 students
- Sunset PrimaryElementary · 548 students
- Evergreen PrimaryElementary · 516 students
Nearby schools
- Curtis Junior High0.2 mi · 904
- Narrows View Intermediate0.5 mi · 692
- Drum Intermediate0.8 mi · 639
- Sunset Primary0.8 mi · 548
- Evergreen Primary0.8 mi · 516
- University Place Primary0.9 mi · 522
Frequently asked questions
About Curtis Senior HighWhat is the total enrollment at Curtis Senior High?
Curtis Senior High enrolls approximately 1,321 students in grades 10-12.
Is Curtis Senior High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Curtis Senior High is a high school covering grades 10-12.
How many teachers does Curtis Senior High have?
Curtis Senior High employs 53 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 24.9:1.
How diverse is Curtis Senior High?
Curtis Senior High reports a student body of 41% White, 18% Hispanic, 12% Black, 12% Asian, 16% Two or more.
Who oversees Curtis Senior High?
Curtis Senior High is overseen by University Place School District in Pierce County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.