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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
592
Elementary
DISTRICT 409 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530048003778
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School
16720 Waller Rd E, Tacoma, WA 98446 · (253) 800-3000 · Pierce County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL592 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% of Washington public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
17.4:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.8:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
325 students
DISTRICT 59% · 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 | 94 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 86 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 101 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 130 | 22% |
| Grade 4 | 92 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 89 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (94) is 6% larger than its 5th grade class (89).
Student demographics
81%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 75% · 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
55.5%
WA avg 58.4% . -2.9pp since 2021
Math
54.6%
WA avg 51.2% . -3.5pp since 2021
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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 3 points since 2021, while math scores are down about 4 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.5% | 54.6% |
| 2023-24 | 57.2% | 57.6% |
| 2022-23 | 55.6% | 54.4% |
| 2021-22 | 58.3% | 58.1% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
58.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.4%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 43% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 15 points, placing it in Washington's top 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 Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School's state test result (58.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School this school | 592 | 54.9% | 58.0% |
| Emma L Carson Elementary Puyallup | 676 | 52.8% | 48.8% |
| Frederickson Elementary PUYALLUP | 527 | 59.0% | 32.2% |
| Clover Creek Elementary Tacoma | 617 | 51.5% | 54.6% |
| Rainier Elementary School JBLM Lewis Main | 576 | 49.0% | 57.5% |
| Lake Stickney Elementary School Lynnwood | 628 | 59.6% | 38.6% |
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 Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 58.0% | #288 of 936 | #44 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.6% | #350 of 1,103 ▼ 58 | #47 of 142 ▼ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.5% | #402 of 1,102 ▼ 51 | #56 of 142 ▼ 7 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -3.2pp | #211 of 928 | #39 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 592 | #113 of 1,268 | #19 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.4:1 | #897 of 1,085 | #112 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 81.3% | #4 of 1,088 | #3 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 54.9% | #540 of 1,169 | #65 of 148 |
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.
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 592 | 34 | 17.4:1 | 55% (325) |
| 2023-24 | 600 | 35.1 | 17.1:1 | 51% (303) |
| 2022-23 | 559 | 32.5 | 17.2:1 | 47% (261) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School.
About Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in Tacoma, Washington. The student body numbers 592 students, from kindergarten through 5. An average school in this group (elementary schools in Washington) has about 380 students.
The 39 schools of Bethel School District, including Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School, enroll 21,732 students.
White students form the largest group at Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School, 27% of enrollment. The remaining shares are 21% multiracial, 19% Hispanic, 15% Black, and 10% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Pierce County's population at about 64%. Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School has a diversity index of 81%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reported 34 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 17.4:1. Elementary schools in Washington have a similar average ratio of 17.3:1. Eligible students account for 55% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program.
The allk12 Grade for Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School is A-. Compared with Washington public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 79% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Washington schools. It scores 58.0%; the prediction is 43.4%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Pierce County, median household income is about $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 287 public schools operate in Pierce County, serving about 138,462 students.
The closest public school to Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School is Clover Creek Elementary, about 0.5 miles away. Within five miles of Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School is ahead of the 40.3% nearby average, ranking 1st of 7.
For locale, NCES codes Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School as Suburb: Large.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Bethel School District
- Graham Kapowsin High SchoolHigh · 2,087 students
- Spanaway Lake High SchoolHigh · 1,787 students
- Bethel High SchoolHigh · 1,688 students
- Liberty Middle SchoolMiddle · 857 students
- Spanaway Middle SchoolMiddle · 766 students
- Cedarcrest Middle SchoolMiddle · 765 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
- Clover Creek Elementary0.5 mi · 617
- Naches Trail Elementary0.8 mi · 519
- Evergreen Elementary1.0 mi · 530
- Spanaway Lake High School1.0 mi · 1,787
- Pierce County Skills Center1.7 mi · 355
- Transition 18-21 Program1.7 mi · 58
Frequently asked questions
About Katherine G. Johnson Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School?
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School enrolls approximately 592 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School serve?
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School is approximately 17.4:1 (34 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School?
Student demographics at Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School are roughly 27% White, 19% Hispanic, 15% Black, 10% Asian, 21% Two or more.
What district is Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School in?
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School is part of Bethel School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.