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How has Glacier Middle School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
999
Middle
DISTRICT 497 · STATE 577
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WHITE RIVER SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530978003005
Glacier Middle School
240 North C St, Buckley, WA 98321 · (360) 829-3395 · Pierce County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL999 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 76% of Washington public middle schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
20.6:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.4:1 · STATE 18.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
369 students
DISTRICT 38% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 349 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 326 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 324 | 32% |
Student demographics
44%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 43% · 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 White River School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
61.5%
WA avg 58.4% . +8.1pp since 2014
Math
45.1%
WA avg 51.2% . +3.3pp 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 45 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 8 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 3 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.5% | 45.1% |
| 2023-24 | 61.4% | 46.1% |
| 2022-23 | 59.8% | 43.2% |
| 2021-22 | 54.9% | 36.8% |
| 2018-19 | 58.8% | 48.1% |
| 2017-18 | 55.0% | 47.4% |
| 2016-17 | 58.3% | 48.4% |
| 2015-16 | 65.1% | 48.0% |
| 2014-15 | 53.4% | 41.8% |
% 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
52.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.4%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 53% 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 Glacier Middle School
Glacier Middle School's state test result (52.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier Middle School this school | 999 | 36.9% | 52.6% |
| Sacajawea Middle School Spokane | 855 | 40.4% | 58.4% |
| Thomas Jefferson Middle School VANCOUVER | 786 | 35.2% | N/A |
| Enterprise Middle School West Richland | 745 | 34.0% | N/A |
| George Bush Middle School Tumwater | 762 | 39.0% | 49.4% |
| John Sedgwick Middle School PORT ORCHARD | 731 | 39.8% | 53.8% |
Matched among Washington middle 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 Glacier Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.6% | #77 of 294 | #11 of 45 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.1% | #104 of 357 ▼ 14 | #12 of 45 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.5% | #75 of 357 ▲ 1 | #11 of 45 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.5pp | #44 of 290 | #8 of 45 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 999 | #15 of 377 | #1 of 45 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.6:1 | #249 of 340 | #23 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.1% | #271 of 340 | #41 of 44 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.9% | #264 of 359 | #38 of 45 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +23.0% | #19 of 130 | #3 of 19 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
999
+78 (+8%) vs 2020
+19% since 2010-11, when it was 842
Student : Teacher
20.6:1
was 20.9:1
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 | 999 | 48.6 | 20.6:1 | 37% (369) |
| 2023-24 | 960 | 46.8 | 20.5:1 | 38% (365) |
| 2022-23 | 970 | 46.7 | 20.8:1 | 35% (341) |
| 2020-21 | 921 | 44 | 20.9:1 | 30% (277) |
| 2017-18 | 812 | 38.9 | 20.9:1 | 28% (229) |
| 2015-16 | 781 | 39 | 20.0:1 | 34% (268) |
| 2010-11 | 842 | 43 | 19.6:1 | 34% (289) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Glacier Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 23% (812 to 999); teachers up 25% (38.9 to 48.6).
About Glacier Middle School
Glacier Middle School is a large middle school in Buckley, Washington, one of the schools in White River School District. It covers grades 6 through 8, with a total enrollment of 999 students. Statewide, middle schools in Washington average about 577 students each.
District-wide, White River School District has 9 schools and 4,475 students.
Glacier Middle School's enrollment is 73% White. The remaining shares are 16% Hispanic and 7% multiracial. Census estimates put the White share of Pierce County's population at about 64%. Glacier Middle School has a diversity index of 44%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Staffing totals 48.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 20.6:1. For comparison, middle schools in Washington average 18.9:1. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 37%. That is 13 points below the 50% average for public schools in Pierce County.
allk12 grades Glacier Middle School an A-. The grade compares the school only with Washington public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Glacier Middle School is 2.8 points below the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 52.6% actual, 55.4% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Washington.
Pierce County has about 930,319 residents, and median household income is about $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 287 public schools in Pierce County, with a combined enrollment of about 138,462.
Nearest public school: White River Special Ed Services, about 0.1 miles away. The five-mile area around Glacier Middle School holds at least 8 other public schools. Glacier Middle School's average proficiency of 52.6% compares with 55.1% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 8%, from 921 to 999.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Glacier Middle School covering things like enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 White River School District
- White River High SchoolHigh · 1,340 students
- Elk Ridge ElementaryElementary · 564 students
- Foothills ElementaryElementary · 470 students
- Mountain Meadow ElementaryElementary · 443 students
- White River Early Learning CenterElementary · 360 students
- Wilkeson Elementary SchoolElementary · 253 students
Other schools in Buckley
- White River High SchoolHigh · 1,340 students
- Elk Ridge ElementaryElementary · 564 students
- Foothills ElementaryElementary · 470 students
- Mountain Meadow ElementaryElementary · 443 students
- White River Early Learning CenterElementary · 360 students
- White River Reengagement ProgramHigh · 40 students
Other Glacier Middle schools
One other US public school is named Glacier Middle. Glacier Middle School is the largest of the 2.
- Glacier Middle SchoolSeaTac, WA · 803 students
Nearby schools
- White River Special Ed Services0.1 mi · 6
- Elk Ridge Elementary0.3 mi · 564
- Sunrise Elementary1.5 mi · 382
- Southwood Elementary School1.7 mi · 358
- Enumclaw Middle School1.7 mi · 522
- Special Ed School1.8 mi · 22
Frequently asked questions
About Glacier Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Glacier Middle School?
Glacier Middle School enrolls approximately 999 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Glacier Middle School serve?
Glacier Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Glacier Middle School have?
Glacier Middle School employs 49 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.6:1.
How diverse is Glacier Middle School?
Glacier Middle School reports a student body of 73% White, 16% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Glacier Middle School?
Glacier Middle School is overseen by White River School District in Pierce County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.