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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Fife Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
866
Elementary
DISTRICT 614 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FIFE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530288003792
Fife Elementary School
5804 20th Street E, Tacoma, WA 98424 · (253) 517-1400 · Pierce County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL866 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.5:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
522 students
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 51%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 130 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 136 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 150 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 147 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 141 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 162 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (130) is 20% smaller than its 5th grade class (162).
Student demographics
80%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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Fife School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
42.0%
WA avg 58.4% . +5.0pp since 2021
Math
41.3%
WA avg 51.2% . +10.3pp since 2021
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 41 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 5 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 10 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.0% | 41.3% |
| 2023-24 | 40.9% | 37.7% |
| 2022-23 | 33.9% | 33.9% |
| 2021-22 | 37.1% | 31.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
42.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.8%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 Fife Elementary School
Fife Elementary School's state test result (42.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fife Elementary School this school | 866 | 60.3% | 42.0% |
| Shining Mountain Elementary Spanaway | 613 | 65.7% | 39.9% |
| Clover Creek Elementary Tacoma | 617 | 51.5% | 54.6% |
| Mountain View Elementary Lacey | 776 | 64.9% | 40.1% |
| Sunrise Elementary Puyallup | 724 | 53.5% | 39.1% |
| Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School Tacoma | 592 | 54.9% | 58.0% |
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 Fife Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #584 of 936 | #92 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.3% | #626 of 1,103 ▲ 62 | #87 of 142 ▲ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #694 of 1,102 ▲ 7 | #96 of 142 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.6pp | #146 of 928 | #27 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 866 | #5 of 1,268 | #2 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.6:1 | #736 of 1,085 | #89 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 80.4% | #15 of 1,088 | #7 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.3% | #444 of 1,169 | #53 of 148 |
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.
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 866 | 52 | 16.6:1 | 60% (522) |
| 2023-24 | 816 | 50.6 | 16.1:1 | 61% (498) |
| 2022-23 | 838 | 51.6 | 16.2:1 | 58% (487) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Fife Elementary School.
About Fife Elementary School
Fife Elementary School is one of the public schools in Tacoma, Washington. It is a large elementary school. The school runs kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 866 students. That compares with an average of about 380 students for elementary schools in Washington.
Fife Elementary School is one school in Fife School District, a system of 7 schools with 3,983 students.
At Fife Elementary School, White students make up the biggest share, 29%. The remaining students are 24% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, 12% Pacific Islander, and 10% Asian. Among people living in Pierce County, the White share is about 64%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 80%.
Based on 52 full-time-equivalent teachers, Fife Elementary School has a ratio of 16.6:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Washington is similar, at 17.3:1. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 60%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Pierce County is 50%.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 39.8% at Fife Elementary School; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 42.0%.
American Community Survey estimates for Pierce County show that median household income comes to about $99,564, roughly 31% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. The county's public schools total 287, with about 138,462 students.
Less than a tenth of a mile separates Fife Elementary School from the closest public school, Fife Open Doors. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Fife Elementary School places 2nd out of 6 schools in its immediate area.
Under the NCES locale system, Fife Elementary School is Suburb: Large.
The discussion board for Fife Elementary School is open to topics like special education services, counseling, and support programs. 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 Fife School District
- Fife High SchoolHigh · 885 students
- Columbia Junior High SchoolHigh · 619 students
- Surprise Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 613 students
- Discovery Primary SchoolElementary · 506 students
- Hedden Elementary SchoolElementary · 469 students
- Fife Open DoorsHigh · 25 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
- Fife Open Doors0.1 mi · 25
- Fife High School0.2 mi · 885
- Columbia Junior High School0.5 mi · 619
- Chief Leschi School1.8 mi · 633
- Discovery Primary School2.0 mi · 506
- Surprise Lake Middle School2.1 mi · 613
Frequently asked questions
About Fife Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Fife Elementary School?
Fife Elementary School enrolls approximately 866 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Fife Elementary School serve?
Fife Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Fife Elementary School?
Approximately 16.6:1 students per teacher at Fife Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Fife Elementary School?
At Fife Elementary School, the student body is approximately 29% White, 24% Hispanic, 10% Black, 10% Asian, 14% Two or more.
What district is Fife Elementary School in?
Fife Elementary School is part of Fife School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.