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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Gig Harbor High this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,375
High
DISTRICT 953 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENINSULA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530669001793
Gig Harbor High
5101 Rosedale St NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335 · (253) 530-1400 · Pierce County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,375 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of Washington public high schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
26.1:1
53 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.4:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
206 students
DISTRICT 26% · 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 | 323 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 339 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 347 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 366 | 27% |
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
81.6%
WA avg 58.4% . +58.8pp since 2014
Math
49.1%
WA avg 51.2% . +33.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 82 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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 59 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 33 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 81.6% | 49.1% |
| 2023-24 | 77.1% | 47.2% |
| 2022-23 | 68.8% | 38.9% |
| 2021-22 | 83.0% | 47.6% |
| 2018-19 | 85.8% | 52.7% |
| 2017-18 | 83.5% | 53.0% |
| 2016-17 | 31.1% | 29.4% |
| 2015-16 | 46.5% | 27.3% |
| 2014-15 | 22.8% | 16.1% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
54.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.2%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 70% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Gig Harbor High
Gig Harbor High's state test result (54.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gig Harbor High this school | 1,375 | 15.0% | 54.1% |
| Ballard High School SEATTLE | 1,697 | 12.7% | 60.3% |
| Bainbridge High School Bainbridge Island | 1,208 | 10.8% | 78.8% |
| Cedarcrest High School Duvall | 889 | 19.5% | 61.3% |
| West Seattle High School SEATTLE | 1,479 | 18.4% | 59.1% |
| Ridgefield High School RIDGEFIELD | 1,249 | 23.5% | N/A |
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 Gig Harbor High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.1% | #49 of 271 | #5 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.1% | #41 of 321 ▲ 3 | #4 of 32 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 81.6% | #20 of 327 ▲ 27 | #1 of 33 ▲ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.0pp | #115 of 259 | #15 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,375 | #112 of 570 | #12 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.1:1 | #307 of 311 | #33 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.3% | #261 of 316 | #34 of 35 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 15.0% | #367 of 386 | #39 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.6% | #41 of 164 | #4 of 15 |
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
1,375
-103 (-7%) vs 2020
+48% since 1990-91, when it was 932
Student : Teacher
26.1:1
was 24.2:1
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 | 1,375 | 52.7 | 26.1:1 | 15% (206) |
| 2023-24 | 1,439 | 56.1 | 25.6:1 | 16% (236) |
| 2022-23 | 1,435 | 58.9 | 24.4:1 | 15% (212) |
| 2020-21 | 1,478 | 61 | 24.2:1 | 12% (170) |
| 2017-18 | 1,610 | 65.8 | 24.5:1 | 17% (267) |
| 2015-16 | 1,726 | 66 | 26.1:1 | 13% (226) |
| 2010-11 | 1,633 | 68 | 24.0:1 | 10% (159) |
| 2000-01 | 1,774 | 73 | 24.3:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 932 | 40 | 23.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gig Harbor High.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (1,610 to 1,375); teachers down 20% (65.8 to 52.7).
About Gig Harbor High
Federal records list Gig Harbor High as a high school in Gig Harbor, Washington. School enrollment was 1,375 students in 2024-25, in grades 9 through 12. For comparison, high schools in Washington average about 573 students.
Within Peninsula School District, Gig Harbor High is one of 17 schools. The district enrolls 9,015 students.
A majority of students at Gig Harbor High, 77%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 11% Hispanic and 9% multiracial. Among all residents of Pierce County, the White share is about 64%. By the diversity index, Gig Harbor High comes in at 38%.
Gig Harbor High's 52.7 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 26.1:1. For comparison, high schools in Washington average 21.6:1. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 15%. That is 35 points below the 50% average for public schools in Pierce County.
allk12 grades Gig Harbor High a B-. The grade compares the school only with Washington public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
On allk12's BeatsExpectations measure, Gig Harbor High is among the bottom 10% of schools in Washington. Predicted: 70.2%. Actual: 54.1%.
Pierce County has about 930,319 residents, and median household income is about $99,564, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 31%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Pierce County number 287 and enroll about 138,462.
Nearby, Discovery Elementary School is less than a tenth of a mile away. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 67.3%; Gig Harbor High's is 54.1%, ranking 8th of 8.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Gig Harbor High went from 1,478 students to 1,375. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 24.2:1 in 2020-21 to 26.1:1 in 2024-25.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Gig Harbor High. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Peninsula School District
- Peninsula High SchoolHigh · 1,345 students
- Harbor Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 627 students
- Goodman Middle SchoolMiddle · 519 students
- Swift Water ElementaryElementary · 519 students
- Kopachuck Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
- Purdy Elementary SchoolElementary · 483 students
Other schools in Gig Harbor
- Peninsula High SchoolHigh · 1,345 students
- Harbor Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 627 students
- Goodman Middle SchoolMiddle · 519 students
- Swift Water ElementaryElementary · 519 students
- Kopachuck Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
- Purdy Elementary SchoolElementary · 483 students
Nearby schools
- Discovery Elementary School0.1 mi · 380
- Henderson Bay Alt High School0.2 mi · 139
- Pioneer Elementary School0.3 mi · 481
- Harbor Ridge Middle School0.9 mi · 627
- Swift Water Elementary1.8 mi · 519
- Artondale Elementary School2.6 mi · 413
Frequently asked questions
About Gig Harbor HighWhat is the total enrollment at Gig Harbor High?
Gig Harbor High enrolls approximately 1,375 students in grades 09-12.
Is Gig Harbor High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Gig Harbor High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Gig Harbor High have?
Gig Harbor High employs 53 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 26.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Gig Harbor High?
Student demographics at Gig Harbor High are roughly 77% White, 11% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 9% Two or more.
What district is Gig Harbor High in?
Gig Harbor High is part of Peninsula School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.