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How has McMicken Heights Elementary changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
484
Elementary
DISTRICT 459 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HIGHLINE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530354000536
McMicken Heights Elementary
3708 S 168th St, SeaTac, WA 98188 · (206) 631-4300 · King County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL484 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 34% of Washington public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+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
15.0:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.1:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
76%
368 students
DISTRICT 65% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 1 | 0% |
| Kindergarten | 68 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 90 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 89 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 92 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 76 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 68 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (68).
Student demographics
78%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
35.0%
WA avg 58.4% . -2.3pp since 2014
Math
32.5%
WA avg 51.2% . +6.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 32 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 2 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 7 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 35.0% | 32.5% |
| 2023-24 | 36.6% | 33.5% |
| 2022-23 | 33.6% | 32.9% |
| 2021-22 | 35.7% | 31.8% |
| 2018-19 | 55.3% | 44.2% |
| 2017-18 | 44.8% | 39.9% |
| 2016-17 | 33.3% | 32.3% |
| 2015-16 | 42.3% | 37.4% |
| 2014-15 | 37.3% | 25.6% |
% 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
34.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
29.2%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 29% 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 McMicken Heights Elementary
McMicken Heights Elementary's state test result (34.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McMicken Heights Elementary this school | 484 | 76.0% | 34.7% |
| Bow Lake Elementary SeaTac | 524 | 75.6% | 18.1% |
| Campbell Hill Elementary School Seattle | 345 | 70.7% | 39.9% |
| Lowell Elementary School SEATTLE | 392 | 71.9% | 30.6% |
| White Center Heights Elementary Seattle | 527 | 75.1% | 32.0% |
| Lake Dolloff Elementary School AUBURN | 543 | 81.2% | 25.9% |
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 McMicken Heights Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In King County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.7% | #723 of 936 | #223 of 280 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.5% | #828 of 1,103 ▼ 39 | #225 of 281 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #859 of 1,102 ▼ 48 | #226 of 280 ▼ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.0pp | #552 of 928 | #158 of 274 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 484 | #336 of 1,268 | #90 of 299 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #341 of 1,085 | #79 of 280 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 77.8% | #72 of 1,088 | #41 of 281 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.0% | #161 of 1,169 | #24 of 292 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.0% | #377 of 778 | #119 of 220 |
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
484
-18 (-4%) vs 2020
+49% since 1990-91, when it was 325
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 16.7:1
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 | 484 | 32.2 | 15.0:1 | 76% (368) |
| 2023-24 | 498 | 34.9 | 14.3:1 | 79% (393) |
| 2022-23 | 515 | 36.5 | 14.1:1 | 78% (401) |
| 2020-21 | 502 | 30 | 16.7:1 | 77% (389) |
| 2017-18 | 583 | 31 | 18.8:1 | 74% (433) |
| 2015-16 | 533 | 30 | 17.8:1 | 78% (415) |
| 2010-11 | 397 | 21 | 18.9:1 | 68% (271) |
| 2000-01 | 461 | 22 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 325 | 15 | 21.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McMicken Heights Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (583 to 484); teachers up 4% (31 to 32.2).
About McMicken Heights Elementary
McMicken Heights Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Washington, located in SeaTac. It serves 484 students in pre-K through 5. The average among elementary schools in Washington is roughly 380 students; this school is 27% larger than that.
McMicken Heights Elementary is one of 36 schools in Highline School District, which enrolls 18,072 students in total.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at McMicken Heights Elementary. The largest is Black students, at 29%. Next come 28% Hispanic, 21% Asian, 9% White, and 7% multiracial. That compares with about 7% Black among all King County residents. McMicken Heights Elementary's diversity index is 78%, against a US figure of 70%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 15.0:1, with 32.2 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. That is 2.3 students per teacher below the 17.3:1 average for elementary schools in Washington. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 76%. The average for public schools in King County is 38%.
McMicken Heights Elementary is graded C by allk12, scoring above 34% of Washington public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
McMicken Heights Elementary is 5.5 points above its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (34.7% versus 29.2%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Washington.
According to the American Community Survey, in King County, the median household income is $124,746, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 57%, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. McMicken Heights Elementary is one of 544 public schools in the county.
The nearest other public school, Valley View Early Childhood Center, is about 0.8 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 24.5%; McMicken Heights Elementary's is 34.7%, ranking 2nd of 8.
Locale data from NCES put McMicken Heights Elementary in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
The school enrolled 484 students in 2024-25, 18 fewer than the 502 it had in 2020-21. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 16.7:1; by 2024-25 it was 15.0:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at McMicken Heights Elementary. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
King County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,287,171
Census ACS
Median income
$124,746
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
544
278,492 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Highline School District
- Mount Rainier High SchoolHigh · 1,846 students
- Highline High SchoolHigh · 1,423 students
- Evergreen High SchoolHigh · 1,080 students
- Glacier Middle SchoolMiddle · 803 students
- Cascade Middle SchoolMiddle · 671 students
- Tyee High SchoolHigh · 644 students
Other schools in SeaTac
- Glacier Middle SchoolMiddle · 803 students
- River Ridge ElementaryElementary · 697 students
- Tyee High SchoolHigh · 644 students
- Chinook Middle SchoolMiddle · 620 students
- Bow Lake ElementaryElementary · 524 students
- Madrona ElementaryElementary · 317 students
Nearby schools
- Valley View Early Childhood Center0.8 mi · 225
- Bow Lake Elementary1.0 mi · 524
- Thorndyke Elementary1.1 mi · 386
- Impact Public Schools1.2 mi · 505
- Chinook Middle School1.3 mi · 620
- Tyee High School1.3 mi · 644
Frequently asked questions
About McMicken Heights ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at McMicken Heights Elementary?
McMicken Heights Elementary enrolls approximately 484 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does McMicken Heights Elementary serve?
McMicken Heights Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does McMicken Heights Elementary have?
McMicken Heights Elementary employs 32 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at McMicken Heights Elementary?
At McMicken Heights Elementary, the student body is approximately 9% White, 28% Hispanic, 29% Black, 21% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is McMicken Heights Elementary in?
McMicken Heights Elementary is part of Highline School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.