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What's the most underrated thing about Fife High School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
885
High
DISTRICT 510 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FIFE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530288000465
Fife High School
5616 20th St E, Tacoma, WA 98424 · (253) 517-1100 · Pierce County
GRADES 10–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL885 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
22.8:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.8:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
50%
442 students
DISTRICT 57% · 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 | 304 | 34% |
| Grade 11 | 283 | 32% |
| Grade 12 | 298 | 34% |
Student demographics
75%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
62.3%
WA avg 58.4% . +14.8pp since 2014
Math
27.7%
WA avg 51.2% . +13.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 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 15 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 13 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.3% | 27.7% |
| 2023-24 | 64.7% | 24.5% |
| 2022-23 | 60.6% | 23.7% |
| 2021-22 | 74.9% | 34.6% |
| 2018-19 | 81.1% | 40.1% |
| 2017-18 | 78.8% | 36.3% |
| 2016-17 | N/A | 24.8% |
| 2015-16 | 16.4% | 20.9% |
| 2014-15 | 47.5% | 14.5% |
% 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
41.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% 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 →
Where Fife High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.8% | #142 of 271 | #15 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.7% | #177 of 321 | #15 of 32 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.3% | #128 of 327 | #15 of 33 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -9.8pp | #23 of 259 | #3 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 885 | #168 of 570 | #23 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.8:1 | #251 of 311 | #22 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 75.1% | #30 of 316 | #9 of 35 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 49.9% | #197 of 386 | #19 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.7% | #113 of 136 | #15 of 17 |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
885
+33 (+4%) vs 2020
+45% since 1990-91, when it was 610
Student : Teacher
22.8:1
was 21.3:1
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 | 885 | 38.8 | 22.8:1 | 50% (442) |
| 2023-24 | 864 | 40.8 | 21.2:1 | 48% (417) |
| 2022-23 | 879 | 40.3 | 21.8:1 | 48% (420) |
| 2020-21 | 852 | 40 | 21.3:1 | 43% (370) |
| 2017-18 | 862 | 38.4 | 22.4:1 | 35% (306) |
| 2015-16 | 835 | 36 | 23.2:1 | 42% (349) |
| 2010-11 | 790 | 34 | 23.2:1 | 39% (312) |
| 2000-01 | 878 | 42 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 610 | 27 | 22.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Fife High School.
About Fife High School
Among the schools in Tacoma, Washington, is Fife High School, a high-enrollment high school. The school enrolls 885 students in grades 10 through 12. High schools in Washington average about 573 students, which makes this school 54% larger than average.
Fife High School sits within Fife School District, which has 7 schools and 3,983 students.
At Fife High School, White students make up the biggest share, 39%. Other groups include 24% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, 10% Asian, and 7% Black. By comparison, Pierce County residents are about 64% White. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 75, compared with 70 nationally.
The school has 38.8 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 22.8 students per teacher. High schools in Washington have an average ratio of 21.6:1. The school reported 50% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. Public schools in Pierce County average a similar 50%.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Fife High School would score about 46.7%. It scores 41.8%, 4.9 points below that figure.
In the surrounding county, Pierce County, the median household earns about $99,564 a year, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Fife High School, Pierce County has 287 public schools.
Fife Open Doors sits less than a tenth of a mile from Fife High School. Fife High School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Fife High School comes in 3rd of 6 nearby schools on average proficiency.
Fife High School is coded as Suburb: Large in federal locale data.
In 2020-21, Fife High School enrolled 852 students. By 2024-25, that number had grown to 885. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (22.8:1) than in 2020-21 (21.3:1).
The Fife High School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. You can also rate the school on this page.
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 Elementary SchoolElementary · 866 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 Elementary School0.2 mi · 866
- Columbia Junior High School0.5 mi · 619
- Chief Leschi School1.8 mi · 633
- Discovery Primary School2.1 mi · 506
- Surprise Lake Middle School2.2 mi · 613
Frequently asked questions
About Fife High SchoolHow large is Fife High School?
Fife High School enrolls approximately 885 students in grades 10-12.
What grades does Fife High School serve?
Fife High School serves grades 10-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fife High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Fife High School is approximately 22.8:1 (39 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Fife High School?
At Fife High School, the student body is approximately 39% White, 24% Hispanic, 7% Black, 10% Asian, 11% Two or more.
What district is Fife High School in?
Fife High School is part of Fife School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.