Enrollment
314
Elementary
DISTRICT 329 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OLYMPIA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530618000924
Garfield Elementary School
325 PLYMOUTH ST NW, OLYMPIA, WA 98502 · (360) 596-6900 · Thurston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL314 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.0:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
190 students
DISTRICT 35% · 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 | 28 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 46 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 48 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 53 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 45 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 52 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (46) is 12% smaller than its 5th grade class (52).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
39.1%
WA avg 58.4% . -32.0pp since 2014
Math
29.7%
WA avg 51.2% . -44.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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 32 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 44 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 39.1% | 29.7% |
| 2023-24 | 39.5% | 33.5% |
| 2022-23 | 39.0% | 35.5% |
| 2021-22 | 45.4% | 39.5% |
| 2018-19 | 47.6% | 46.0% |
| 2017-18 | 65.4% | 55.9% |
| 2016-17 | 65.7% | 58.4% |
| 2015-16 | 69.5% | 64.5% |
| 2014-15 | 71.1% | 73.7% |
% 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
37.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.6%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% 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 Garfield Elementary School
Garfield Elementary School's state test result (37.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Elementary School this school | 314 | 60.5% | 37.9% |
| Waller Road Elementary Tacoma | 306 | 60.8% | 36.2% |
| Leland P Brown Elementary OLYMPIA | 328 | 60.7% | 45.4% |
| Crownhill Elementary School Bremerton | 317 | 58.0% | 47.8% |
| Esquire Hills Elementary Bremerton | 288 | 56.6% | 44.9% |
| Suquamish Elementary School Suquamish | 314 | 55.7% | 45.3% |
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 Garfield Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Thurston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.9% | #667 of 936 | #38 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.7% | #884 of 1,103 ▼ 100 | #39 of 39 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.1% | #773 of 1,102 ▼ 31 | #36 of 39 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -8.0pp | #62 of 928 | #1 of 39 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 314 | #917 of 1,268 | #36 of 43 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #78 of 1,085 | #3 of 40 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.9% | #387 of 1,088 | #15 of 39 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.5% | #440 of 1,169 | #8 of 43 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.0% | #352 of 778 | #8 of 27 |
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
314
-32 (-9%) vs 2020
-40% since 1990-91, when it was 526
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
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 | 314 | 23.7 | 13.2:1 | 61% (190) |
| 2023-24 | 338 | 24.7 | 13.7:1 | 62% (209) |
| 2022-23 | 351 | 24.4 | 14.4:1 | 65% (228) |
| 2020-21 | 346 | 26 | 13.3:1 | 61% (210) |
| 2017-18 | 383 | 28.9 | 13.3:1 | 55% (209) |
| 2015-16 | 400 | 23 | 17.4:1 | 61% (244) |
| 2010-11 | 363 | 23 | 15.8:1 | 56% (204) |
| 2000-01 | 448 | 25 | 17.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 526 | 27 | 19.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Garfield Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (383 to 314); teachers down 18% (28.9 to 23.7).
About Garfield Elementary School
Garfield Elementary School is a public small elementary school in OLYMPIA, Washington. A federal count lists 314 students at the school, in pre-K through 5.
Across its 20 schools, Olympia School District enrolls 9,386 students. Garfield Elementary School is one of those schools.
Enrollment at Garfield Elementary School is mixed, with White students the largest group at 48%. After that, the student body is 18% Hispanic, 16% multiracial, 5% Asian, and 3% Black. Census figures show Thurston County is about 72% White. Garfield Elementary School has a diversity index of 66%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Garfield Elementary School counts 23.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 13.2 students for each one. The 17.3:1 average for elementary schools in Washington is higher than this school's figure. About 61% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. For comparison, public schools in Thurston County average 43%.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Garfield Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of Washington schools: 37.9% actual against 39.6% predicted.
County data help place the school in context: in Thurston County, median household income is about $96,563, roughly 39% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. The public schools of Thurston County number 86 and enroll about 44,412.
Jefferson Middle School is located about 0.5 miles from Garfield Elementary School. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. In a group of 8 nearby schools with scores, Garfield Elementary School ranks 8th on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Garfield Elementary School is City: Small.
Garfield Elementary School saw enrollment fall 9% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Thurston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
299,067
Census ACS
Median income
$96,563
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
86
44,412 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Olympia School District
- Olympia High SchoolHigh · 1,901 students
- Capital High SchoolHigh · 1,322 students
- Washington Middle SchoolMiddle · 702 students
- Thurgood Marshall Middle SchoolMiddle · 469 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolMiddle · 462 students
- Centennial ElementaryElementary · 434 students
Other schools in OLYMPIA
- Olympia High SchoolHigh · 1,901 students
- Capital High SchoolHigh · 1,322 students
- Washington Middle SchoolMiddle · 702 students
- Griffin SchoolElementary · 585 students
- East Olympia ElementaryElementary · 579 students
- Thurgood Marshall Middle SchoolMiddle · 469 students
Other Garfield Elementary schools
51 other US public schools in 21 states are named Garfield Elementary. Garfield Elementary School is the 29th largest of the 52.
- Garfield Elementary SchoolYakima, WA · 507 students
- Garfield Elementary SchoolEverett, WA · 393 students
- Garfield ElementarySpokane, WA · 314 students
- Garfield Elementary SchoolTOPPENISH, WA · 310 students
- Garfield ElementaryGarfield, WA · 51 students
Nearby schools
- Jefferson Middle School0.5 mi · 462
- Capital High School0.7 mi · 1,322
- Avanti High School1.6 mi · 167
- Lincoln Elementary School1.6 mi · 300
- Leland P Brown Elementary1.6 mi · 328
- Madison Elementary School1.6 mi · 203
Frequently asked questions
About Garfield Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Garfield Elementary School?
Garfield Elementary School enrolls approximately 314 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Garfield Elementary School serve?
Garfield Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Garfield Elementary School have?
Garfield Elementary School employs 24 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.2:1.
How diverse is Garfield Elementary School?
Garfield Elementary School reports a student body of 48% White, 18% Hispanic, 3% Black, 5% Asian, 16% Two or more.
Who oversees Garfield Elementary School?
Garfield Elementary School is overseen by Olympia School District in Thurston County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.