1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Hillcrest Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
842
Elementary
DISTRICT 601 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530420000651
Hillcrest Elementary School
9315 4th St SE, Lake Stevens, WA 98258 · (425) 335-1545 · Snohomish County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL842 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Washington public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.1:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
31%
257 students
DISTRICT 35% · 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 | 149 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 129 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 145 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 154 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 133 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 132 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (149) is 13% larger than its 5th grade class (132).
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
57.3%
WA avg 58.4% . -4.1pp since 2014
Math
58.9%
WA avg 51.2% . -7.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 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 4 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 7 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 57.3% | 58.9% |
| 2023-24 | 60.7% | 62.8% |
| 2022-23 | 67.9% | 65.4% |
| 2021-22 | 66.7% | 55.4% |
| 2018-19 | 67.4% | 64.7% |
| 2017-18 | 59.2% | 64.9% |
| 2016-17 | 65.0% | 62.7% |
| 2015-16 | 66.3% | 66.2% |
| 2014-15 | 61.4% | 66.1% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
61.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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 Hillcrest Elementary School
Hillcrest Elementary School's state test result (61.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcrest Elementary School this school | 842 | 30.5% | 61.4% |
| Sunnycrest Elementary School Lake Stevens | 695 | 29.6% | 59.4% |
| Stevens Creek Elementary Lake Stevens | 701 | 34.2% | 72.0% |
| Glenwood Elementary Lake Stevens | 641 | 28.7% | 66.7% |
| Shaw Road Elementary Puyallup | 615 | 35.1% | 60.8% |
| Donald Eismann Elementary Bonney Lake | 648 | 25.2% | 67.7% |
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 Hillcrest Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Snohomish County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 61.4% | #239 of 936 | #32 of 105 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 58.9% | #272 of 1,103 ▼ 53 | #34 of 106 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.3% | #358 of 1,102 ▼ 68 | #44 of 106 ▼ 8 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.9pp | #233 of 928 | #13 of 105 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 842 | #8 of 1,268 | #2 of 118 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.9:1 | #956 of 1,085 | #98 of 109 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.6% | #363 of 1,088 | #53 of 110 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 30.5% | #926 of 1,169 | #76 of 114 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.8% | #213 of 257 | #30 of 37 |
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
842
+104 (+14%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 735
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
was 16.8:1
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 | 842 | 47.2 | 17.9:1 | 31% (257) |
| 2023-24 | 778 | 42.7 | 18.2:1 | 30% (232) |
| 2022-23 | 769 | 42.8 | 18.0:1 | 27% (208) |
| 2020-21 | 738 | 44 | 16.8:1 | 21% (156) |
| 2017-18 | 819 | 41.3 | 19.9:1 | 29% (241) |
| 2015-16 | 879 | 40 | 22.0:1 | 35% (310) |
| 2010-11 | 673 | 31 | 21.7:1 | 38% (257) |
| 2000-01 | 558 | 27 | 20.7:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 735 | 35 | 21.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Hillcrest Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (819 to 842); teachers up 14% (41.3 to 47.2).
About Hillcrest Elementary School
Families in Lake Stevens, Washington, are served by Hillcrest Elementary School, a large elementary school. The school serves 842 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. For comparison, elementary schools in Washington average about 380 students.
Lake Stevens School District has 10,117 students spread across 14 schools.
By race and ethnicity, Hillcrest Elementary School is 52% White. It is also 17% Hispanic, 14% Asian, 10% multiracial, and 6% Black. For comparison, the population of Snohomish County is roughly 64% White. By the diversity index, Hillcrest Elementary School comes in at 67%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 17.9:1, with 47.2 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. Elementary schools in Washington average about 17.3:1, a similar figure. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 31%. Across public schools in Snohomish County, the average is 41%.
Measured against Washington public elementary schools, Hillcrest Elementary School receives a B. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Hillcrest Elementary School would be expected to post about 59.7%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 61.4%.
In the county around the school, Snohomish County, median household income is about $111,246, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Hillcrest Elementary School is among the 227 public schools in Snohomish County.
The closest public school to Hillcrest Elementary School is Skyline Elementary, about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles of Hillcrest Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Hillcrest Elementary School is 3rd of 8 on proficiency.
Hillcrest Elementary School falls in the Suburb: Mid-size locale category, used for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 14%, from 738 to 842. The ratio of students to teachers went from 16.8:1 to 17.9:1 over the same years.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Snohomish County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
844,430
Census ACS
Median income
$111,246
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
227
118,688 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lake Stevens School District
- Lake Stevens Sr High SchoolHigh · 2,205 students
- Cavelero Mid High SchoolHigh · 1,490 students
- North Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 856 students
- Lake Stevens Middle SchoolMiddle · 709 students
- Stevens Creek ElementaryElementary · 701 students
- Sunnycrest Elementary SchoolElementary · 695 students
Other schools in Lake Stevens
- Lake Stevens Sr High SchoolHigh · 2,205 students
- Cavelero Mid High SchoolHigh · 1,490 students
- North Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 856 students
- Lake Stevens Middle SchoolMiddle · 709 students
- Stevens Creek ElementaryElementary · 701 students
- Sunnycrest Elementary SchoolElementary · 695 students
Other Hillcrest Elementary schools
41 other US public schools in 24 states are named Hillcrest Elementary. Hillcrest Elementary School is the largest of the 42.
- Hillcrest ElementaryOak Harbor, WA · 460 students
- Hillcrest Elementary SchoolEnterprise, AL · 753 students
- Hillcrest Elementary SchoolNEDERLAND, TX · 717 students
- Hillcrest ElementaryBaltimore, MD · 678 students
- HILLCREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLAKE WALES, FL · 667 students
Nearby schools
- Skyline Elementary0.4 mi · 562
- Lake Stevens Middle School0.5 mi · 709
- Glenwood Elementary1.3 mi · 641
- Cavelero Mid High School1.6 mi · 1,490
- Early Learning Center2.1 mi · 259
- Stevens Creek Elementary2.2 mi · 701
Frequently asked questions
About Hillcrest Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Hillcrest Elementary School?
Hillcrest Elementary School enrolls approximately 842 students in grades PK-05.
Is Hillcrest Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Hillcrest Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Hillcrest Elementary School have?
Hillcrest Elementary School employs 47 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Hillcrest Elementary School?
Student demographics at Hillcrest Elementary School are roughly 52% White, 17% Hispanic, 6% Black, 14% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Hillcrest Elementary School in?
Hillcrest Elementary School is part of Lake Stevens School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.