Enrollment
358
Elementary
DISTRICT 376 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLOVER PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530141000251
Custer Elementary School
7801 Steilacoom Blvd SW, Lakewood, WA 98498 · (253) 583-5230 · Pierce County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL358 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.1:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
265 students
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 51%
Community
0
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 | 94 | 26% |
| Kindergarten | 54 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 41 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 37 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 32 | 9% |
This year's kindergarten class (54) is 69% larger than its 5th grade class (32).
Student demographics
78%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 76% · 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
45.0%
WA avg 58.4% . +6.7pp since 2014
Math
38.0%
WA avg 51.2% . +11.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 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 7 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 11 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 45.0% | 38.0% |
| 2023-24 | 43.2% | 33.0% |
| 2022-23 | 35.5% | 34.2% |
| 2021-22 | 29.8% | 29.8% |
| 2018-19 | 42.3% | 35.8% |
| 2017-18 | 44.3% | 38.5% |
| 2016-17 | 33.3% | 37.9% |
| 2015-16 | 44.8% | 44.4% |
| 2014-15 | 38.3% | 26.7% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
41.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.5%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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 Custer Elementary School
Custer Elementary School's state test result (41.0% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer Elementary School this school | 358 | 74.0% | 41.0% |
| Whitman Elementary School Tacoma | 365 | 71.2% | 31.5% |
| Christensen Elementary Tacoma | 346 | 74.3% | 32.8% |
| James Sales Elementary Tacoma | 387 | 75.2% | 51.7% |
| Midland Elementary Tacoma | 399 | 69.4% | 38.9% |
| Edison Elementary School Tacoma | 413 | 70.9% | 37.0% |
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 Custer Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.0% | #607 of 936 | #95 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.0% | #708 of 1,103 ▲ 95 | #98 of 142 ▲ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.0% | #624 of 1,102 ▲ 20 | #88 of 142 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +11.7pp | #58 of 928 | #13 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 358 | #779 of 1,268 | #108 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.1:1 | #833 of 1,085 | #104 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 78.2% | #61 of 1,088 | #27 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 74.0% | #196 of 1,169 | #19 of 148 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.2% | #105 of 257 | #15 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
358
+91 (+34%) vs 2020
+17% since 1990-91, when it was 305
Student : Teacher
17.1:1
was 13.3:1
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 | 358 | 21 | 17.1:1 | 74% (265) |
| 2023-24 | 313 | 18.5 | 16.9:1 | 80% (250) |
| 2022-23 | 299 | 19.7 | 15.2:1 | 82% (244) |
| 2020-21 | 267 | 20 | 13.3:1 | 66% (177) |
| 2017-18 | 319 | 23.5 | 13.6:1 | 69% (221) |
| 2015-16 | 322 | 21 | 15.3:1 | 81% (261) |
| 2010-11 | 323 | 19 | 17.0:1 | 71% (230) |
| 2000-01 | 302 | 18 | 16.8:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 305 | 20 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Custer Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (319 to 358); teachers down 11% (23.5 to 21).
About Custer Elementary School
Custer Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school that serves part of Lakewood, Washington. Federal data show 358 students enrolled in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25.
Custer Elementary School is one school in Clover Park School District, a system of 32 schools with 12,345 students.
At Custer Elementary School, Hispanic students make up the biggest share, 27%. Other students are 25% White, 19% multiracial, 15% Black, and 5% Pacific Islander. By comparison, Pierce County residents are about 13% Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 78, compared with 70 nationally.
Teacher count: 21 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 17.1:1. That is in line with the 17.3:1 average for elementary schools in Washington. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, often used to gauge student poverty, is 74%. It compares with 50% for public schools in Pierce County.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Custer Elementary School is 10.5 points above the average proficiency rate across its state test results predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 41.0% actual, 30.5% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Washington.
In the surrounding county, Pierce County, median household income comes to about $99,564, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. There are 287 public schools in the county, enrolling about 138,462, Custer Elementary School among them.
Custer Elementary School is about 0.2 miles from Hudtloff Middle School, its nearest public school. Custer Elementary School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 24.3% on proficiency, and Custer Elementary School is above that at 41.0%.
Locale: City: Small. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school's enrollment increased 34% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio increased to 17.1:1, from 13.3:1.
Anyone can start a thread about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Custer Elementary School. 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 Clover Park School District
- Clover Park High SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Lakes High SchoolHigh · 1,158 students
- Thomas Middle SchoolMiddle · 934 students
- General William H. Harrison Preparatory SchoolHigh · 738 students
- Rainier Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Hillside Elementary SchoolElementary · 567 students
Other schools in Lakewood
- Clover Park High SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Lakes High SchoolHigh · 1,158 students
- Thomas Middle SchoolMiddle · 934 students
- General William H. Harrison Preparatory SchoolHigh · 738 students
- Hudtloff Middle SchoolMiddle · 555 students
- Four Heroes ElementaryElementary · 541 students
Other Custer Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 5 states are named Custer Elementary. Custer Elementary School is the 3rd largest of the 6.
- Custer ElemCuster, WA · 392 students
- Custer Elementary SchoolMONROE, MI · 769 students
- Custer Elementary - 02Custer, SD · 269 students
- Custer Elementary SchoolCuster, KY · 178 students
- CUSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLMandan, ND · 126 students
Nearby schools
- Hudtloff Middle School0.2 mi · 555
- Oakbrook Elementary School0.5 mi · 285
- Oakridge Group Home0.6 mi · 3
- Firwood0.9 mi · 45
- Transition Day Students0.9 mi · 8
- Dower Elementary School0.9 mi · 337
Frequently asked questions
About Custer Elementary SchoolHow large is Custer Elementary School?
Custer Elementary School enrolls approximately 358 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Custer Elementary School serve?
Custer Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Custer Elementary School?
Approximately 17.1:1 students per teacher at Custer Elementary School.
How diverse is Custer Elementary School?
Custer Elementary School reports a student body of 25% White, 27% Hispanic, 15% Black, 4% Asian, 19% Two or more.
What district is Custer Elementary School in?
Custer Elementary School is part of Clover Park School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.