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What's something Mount Rainier High School does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,846
High
DISTRICT 574 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HIGHLINE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530354000538
Mount Rainier High School
22450 19th Ave S, Des Moines, WA 98198 · (206) 631-7000 · King County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,846 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
24.0:1
77 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.6:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
1,086 students
DISTRICT 65% · 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 | 411 | 22% |
| Grade 10 | 469 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 485 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 481 | 26% |
Student demographics
77%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
55.4%
WA avg 58.4% . +46.3pp since 2014
Math
26.6%
WA avg 51.2% . +20.9pp since 2014
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 27 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 46 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 21 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.4% | 26.6% |
| 2023-24 | 54.5% | 18.2% |
| 2022-23 | 62.2% | 24.1% |
| 2021-22 | 62.9% | 32.4% |
| 2018-19 | 66.8% | 34.0% |
| 2017-18 | 77.6% | 43.4% |
| 2016-17 | 22.6% | 11.3% |
| 2015-16 | 21.4% | 18.7% |
| 2014-15 | 9.1% | 5.7% |
% 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
32.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% 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 Mount Rainier High School
Mount Rainier High School's state test result (32.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Rainier High School this school | 1,846 | 58.8% | 32.3% |
| Decatur High School FEDERAL WAY | 1,352 | 64.8% | 20.1% |
| Spanaway Lake High School Spanaway | 1,787 | 60.5% | 35.1% |
| Mariner High School Everett | 2,106 | 62.5% | 40.5% |
| Auburn Senior High School AUBURN | 1,918 | 63.2% | 29.5% |
| Lakes High School Lakewood | 1,158 | 56.3% | 36.3% |
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 Mount Rainier High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In King County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.3% | #217 of 271 | #44 of 59 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.6% | #184 of 321 ▲ 43 | #36 of 59 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.4% | #193 of 327 ▲ 13 | #40 of 61 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -6.6pp | #46 of 259 | #10 of 57 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,846 | #37 of 570 | #13 of 97 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.0:1 | #281 of 311 | #61 of 67 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 77.1% | #16 of 316 | #9 of 67 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.8% | #128 of 386 | #20 of 76 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +13.5% | #47 of 136 | #11 of 31 |
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
1,846
+79 (+4%) vs 2020
+61% since 1990-91, when it was 1,144
Student : Teacher
24.0:1
was 23.6:1
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 | 1,846 | 76.9 | 24.0:1 | 59% (1,086) |
| 2023-24 | 1,889 | 77.1 | 24.5:1 | 61% (1,146) |
| 2022-23 | 1,873 | 77.4 | 24.2:1 | 63% (1,172) |
| 2020-21 | 1,767 | 75 | 23.6:1 | 58% (1,031) |
| 2017-18 | 1,626 | 71.3 | 22.8:1 | 53% (854) |
| 2015-16 | 1,629 | 74 | 22.0:1 | 55% (899) |
| 2010-11 | 1,655 | 72 | 23.0:1 | 40% (658) |
| 2000-01 | 1,330 | 59 | 22.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,144 | 51 | 22.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Mount Rainier High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 14% (1,626 to 1,846); teachers up 8% (71.3 to 76.9).
About Mount Rainier High School
Mount Rainier High School is a high-enrollment high school in Washington, with an address in Des Moines. In all, 1,846 students attend the school in grades 9 through 12. It has 222% more students than the average for high schools in Washington (about 573).
Highline School District has 36 schools and 18,072 students, and Mount Rainier High School is one of those schools.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Mount Rainier High School is Hispanic, with 35% of students. Other groups include 23% White, 16% Black, 12% Asian, and 9% multiracial. The county population is about 11% Hispanic. The diversity index for Mount Rainier High School is 77%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Its staff includes 76.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 24.0 students per teacher. The average for high schools in Washington, 21.6:1, is lower. Mount Rainier High School has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 59%. Across public schools in King County, the average is 38%.
Mount Rainier High School sits between the top and bottom 10% of Washington schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate across its state test results of 32.3% and a predicted 40.7%.
In King County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $124,746, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 57%, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. The county has 544 public schools and about 278,492 students.
Measured in a straight line, Midway Elementary is about 0.2 miles from Mount Rainier High School. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, Mount Rainier High School is ahead of the 23.8% nearby average, ranking 3rd of 9.
NCES assigns Mount Rainier High School the locale Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, enrollment rose by 79 students, from 1,767 to 1,846.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Mount Rainier High School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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
- 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
- Chinook Middle SchoolMiddle · 620 students
Other schools in Des Moines
- Pacific Middle SchoolMiddle · 604 students
- Midway ElementaryElementary · 548 students
- Parkside ElementaryElementary · 535 students
- North Hill ElementaryElementary · 518 students
- Des Moines ElementaryElementary · 500 students
- Woodmont K-8 SchoolElementary · 402 students
Nearby schools
- Midway Elementary0.2 mi · 548
- Pacific Middle School0.2 mi · 604
- Cascade Public Schools0.5 mi · 126
- Des Moines Elementary0.8 mi · 500
- River Ridge Elementary0.9 mi · 697
- Parkside Elementary1.3 mi · 535
Frequently asked questions
About Mount Rainier High SchoolHow large is Mount Rainier High School?
Mount Rainier High School enrolls approximately 1,846 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Mount Rainier High School serve?
Mount Rainier High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Mount Rainier High School?
Approximately 24.0:1 students per teacher at Mount Rainier High School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Mount Rainier High School?
At Mount Rainier High School, the student body is approximately 23% White, 35% Hispanic, 16% Black, 12% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is Mount Rainier High School public or private?
Mount Rainier High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Highline School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.