1
Enrollment
957
High
DISTRICT 498 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ELLENSBURG SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530246000365
Ellensburg High School
1203 E Capitol, Ellensburg, WA 98926 · (509) 925-8300 · Kittitas County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL957 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 68% of Washington public high schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A+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
20.5:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.5:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
366 students
DISTRICT 52% · 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 9 | 253 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 256 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 230 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 218 | 23% |
Student demographics
46%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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 Ellensburg School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
63.8%
WA avg 58.4% . +44.6pp since 2014
Math
38.5%
WA avg 51.2% . +23.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 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 45 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 23 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 63.8% | 38.5% |
| 2023-24 | 60.4% | 31.4% |
| 2022-23 | 58.3% | 31.3% |
| 2021-22 | 50.0% | 33.0% |
| 2018-19 | 71.8% | 41.4% |
| 2017-18 | 65.2% | 38.8% |
| 2016-17 | 8.1% | 13.1% |
| 2015-16 | 9.8% | 25.5% |
| 2014-15 | 19.2% | 15.3% |
% 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
48.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.5%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 48% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 55% 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 Ellensburg High School
Ellensburg High School's state test result (48.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellensburg High School this school | 957 | 38.2% | 48.1% |
| Bellingham High School Bellingham | 1,165 | 35.5% | 51.7% |
| Orting High School Orting | 876 | 36.9% | 41.5% |
| W F West High School Chehalis | 950 | 43.5% | 47.7% |
| Washougal High School Washougal | 942 | 39.9% | N/A |
| Arlington High School Arlington | 1,650 | 37.0% | 49.0% |
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 Ellensburg High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Kittitas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.1% | #93 of 271 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.5% | #91 of 321 ▲ 38 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.8% | #117 of 327 ▲ 50 | N/A |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.7pp | #19 of 259 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 957 | #156 of 570 | #1 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.5:1 | #151 of 311 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 45.7% | #229 of 316 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 38.2% | #281 of 386 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.0% | #138 of 164 | N/A |
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
957
+25 (+3%) vs 2020
+52% since 1990-91, when it was 630
Student : Teacher
20.5:1
was 19.0:1
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 | 957 | 46.6 | 20.5:1 | 38% (366) |
| 2023-24 | 974 | 43.3 | 22.5:1 | 39% (383) |
| 2022-23 | 938 | 49.5 | 19.0:1 | 40% (372) |
| 2020-21 | 932 | 49 | 19.0:1 | 39% (360) |
| 2017-18 | 987 | 48.7 | 20.3:1 | 31% (308) |
| 2015-16 | 979 | 45 | 21.8:1 | 32% (313) |
| 2010-11 | 926 | 45 | 20.6:1 | 19% (178) |
| 2000-01 | 1,023 | 45 | 22.7:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 630 | 30 | 21.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ellensburg High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (987 to 957); teachers down 4% (48.7 to 46.6).
About Ellensburg High School
Ellensburg High School, a large high school, is located in Ellensburg, Washington. It is open to students in grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 957 students. It has 67% more students than the average for high schools in Washington (about 573).
Ellensburg High School reports to Ellensburg School District, which has 9 schools and 3,408 students.
About 69% of the student body at Ellensburg High School is White. Other groups make up 23% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. County-wide, 82% of Kittitas County residents are White. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 46%.
Classroom staffing at Ellensburg High School totals 46.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 20.5:1. Compared with the 21.6:1 average for high schools in Washington, this school's ratio is lower. Federal data show 38% of students (366) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Ellensburg High School earns a B+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 68% of Washington public high schools.
Ellensburg High School posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 48.1%, compared with a predicted 54.5%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Washington schools on BeatsExpectations.
In Kittitas County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $73,804, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 37%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. The county has 21 public schools and about 5,387 students.
Among nearby public schools, Ellensburg Open Doors is closest at less than a tenth of a mile. Ellensburg High School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. The nearest schools with test data average 45.5%, lower than Ellensburg High School's 48.1%.
NCES describes the area around Ellensburg High School as Town: Distant, meaning in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Federal enrollment counts rose from 932 (2020-21) to 957 (2024-25). In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 19.0:1; by 2024-25 it was 20.5:1.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Kittitas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
47,172
Census ACS
Median income
$73,804
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
21
5,387 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ellensburg School District
- Morgan Middle SchoolMiddle · 772 students
- Valley View Elementary SchoolElementary · 408 students
- Ida Nason Aronica ElementaryElementary · 361 students
- Mt. Stuart ElementaryElementary · 336 students
- Lincoln ElementaryElementary · 334 students
- Ellensburg Choice SchoolsCombined · 148 students
Other schools in Ellensburg
- Morgan Middle SchoolMiddle · 772 students
- Valley View Elementary SchoolElementary · 408 students
- Ida Nason Aronica ElementaryElementary · 361 students
- Mt. Stuart ElementaryElementary · 336 students
- Lincoln ElementaryElementary · 334 students
- Ellensburg Choice SchoolsCombined · 148 students
Nearby schools
- Ellensburg Open Doors0.0 mi · 38
- Ellensburg Choice Schools0.1 mi · 148
- Valley View Elementary School0.3 mi · 408
- Lincoln Elementary0.6 mi · 334
- Morgan Middle School0.7 mi · 772
- Mt. Stuart Elementary1.9 mi · 336
Frequently asked questions
About Ellensburg High SchoolHow many students attend Ellensburg High School?
Ellensburg High School enrolls approximately 957 students in grades 09-12.
Is Ellensburg High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Ellensburg High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Ellensburg High School?
Approximately 20.5:1 students per teacher at Ellensburg High School.
What is the student diversity at Ellensburg High School?
Student demographics at Ellensburg High School are roughly 69% White, 23% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Ellensburg High School?
Ellensburg High School is overseen by Ellensburg School District in Kittitas County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.