Enrollment
298
Elementary
DISTRICT 356 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530870001461
Downing Elementary School
5130 N. 26th Street, Tacoma, WA 98406 · (253) 571-7100 · Pierce County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL298 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.2:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
159 students
DISTRICT 57% · 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 | 17 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 62 | 21% |
| Grade 1 | 45 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 54 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 41 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 43 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (62) is 44% larger than its 5th grade class (43).
Student demographics
60%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
61.5%
WA avg 58.4% . -2.0pp since 2014
Math
54.1%
WA avg 51.2% . -16.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 54 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 2 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 | 61.5% | 54.1% |
| 2023-24 | 66.7% | 64.8% |
| 2022-23 | 67.0% | 59.6% |
| 2021-22 | 66.3% | 59.2% |
| 2018-19 | 67.5% | 57.5% |
| 2017-18 | 65.1% | 56.3% |
| 2016-17 | 64.6% | 59.9% |
| 2015-16 | 54.4% | 56.8% |
| 2014-15 | 63.5% | 71.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
63.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.4%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+19.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 64% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 44% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 19 points, placing it in Washington's top 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 Downing Elementary School
Downing Elementary School's state test result (63.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downing Elementary School this school | 298 | 53.4% | 63.6% |
| Kamiak Elementary Pullman | 315 | 54.3% | 64.1% |
| Skyline Elementary School Tacoma | 329 | 53.2% | 49.3% |
| McDonald Elementary School Spokane Valley | 282 | 56.0% | 57.5% |
| Meeker Elementary Puyallup | 366 | 50.0% | 44.6% |
| Roosevelt Elementary Spokane | 402 | 53.2% | 57.8% |
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 Downing Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 63.6% | #210 of 936 | #27 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.1% | #363 of 1,103 ▼ 181 | #50 of 142 ▼ 30 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.5% | #269 of 1,102 ▼ 63 | #34 of 142 ▼ 11 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -5.0pp | #145 of 928 | #27 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 298 | #959 of 1,268 | #133 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.1:1 | #979 of 1,085 | #125 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.2% | #519 of 1,088 | #107 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.4% | #570 of 1,169 | #71 of 148 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.6% | #179 of 257 | #32 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
298
+25 (+9%) vs 2020
-32% since 1990-91, when it was 436
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
was 17.1:1
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 | 298 | 16.5 | 18.1:1 | 53% (159) |
| 2023-24 | 283 | 17.4 | 16.3:1 | 54% (153) |
| 2022-23 | 255 | 15.3 | 16.7:1 | 48% (123) |
| 2020-21 | 273 | 16 | 17.1:1 | 45% (122) |
| 2017-18 | 285 | 17.6 | 16.2:1 | 52% (149) |
| 2015-16 | 284 | 17 | 16.7:1 | 53% (151) |
| 2010-11 | 294 | 18 | 16.3:1 | 42% (123) |
| 2000-01 | 425 | 21 | 20.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 436 | 25 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Downing Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (285 to 298); teachers down 6% (17.6 to 16.5).
About Downing Elementary School
Downing Elementary School is a small elementary school based in Tacoma, Washington. Enrollment is 298 students in 2024-25, and the school serves pre-K through 5. The average for elementary schools in Washington is about 380 students, so this school is 22% smaller than average.
Tacoma School District has 66 schools and 28,900 students, and Downing Elementary School is one of those schools.
A majority of students at Downing Elementary School, 58%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 20% multiracial, 11% Hispanic, and 7% Black. The chance that two students picked at random at Downing Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 60%.
Staffing totals 16.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 18.1:1. That ratio is over the 17.3:1 average for elementary schools in Washington. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Downing Elementary School is 53%. Across public schools in Pierce County, the average is about the same, 50%.
Schools in Washington with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to post an average proficiency rate on state tests near 44.4%. Downing Elementary School posts 63.6%, 19.2 points above that, which places it in the top 10% statewide on BeatsExpectations.
In Pierce County (population about 930,319), median household income is about $99,564, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 31%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. A total of 287 public schools operate in Pierce County, serving about 138,462 students.
The school nearest to Downing Elementary School is Dr. Dolores Silas High School, at a distance of about 0.6 miles. Within five miles of Downing Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Downing Elementary School ranks 2nd of 6 on average proficiency.
Its location is classified as City: Mid-size by the National Center for Education Statistics.
The number of students grew from 273 to 298 over 4 years. By 2024-25, the school had 18.1 students per teacher, compared with 17.1 in 2020-21.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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
Nearby schools
- Dr. Dolores Silas High School0.6 mi · 1,160
- Skyline Elementary School0.7 mi · 329
- Truman Middle School0.8 mi · 438
- Tacoma Online Middle School0.8 mi · 170
- Tacoma Online High School0.8 mi · 497
- Tacoma Online Elementary School0.8 mi · 144
Frequently asked questions
About Downing Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Downing Elementary School?
Downing Elementary School enrolls approximately 298 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Downing Elementary School serve?
Downing Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Downing Elementary School?
Approximately 18.1:1 students per teacher at Downing Elementary School.
How diverse is Downing Elementary School?
Downing Elementary School reports a student body of 58% White, 11% Hispanic, 7% Black, 2% Asian, 20% Two or more.
Who oversees Downing Elementary School?
Downing Elementary School is overseen by Tacoma School District in Pierce County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.