1
Best kept secret at Mount Tahoma High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,410
High
DISTRICT 656 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530870001488
Mount Tahoma High School
4634 S 74th Street, Tacoma, WA 98409 · (253) 571-3852 · Pierce County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,410 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 15% of Washington public high schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A-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 high schools
Student : Teacher
21.4:1
66 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.5:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
982 students
DISTRICT 57% · 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 | 365 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 348 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 389 | 28% |
| Grade 12 | 308 | 22% |
Student demographics
80%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 78% · 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
36.3%
WA avg 58.4% . +18.5pp since 2014
Math
13.8%
WA avg 51.2% . +9.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 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 19 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 10 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 36.3% | 13.8% |
| 2023-24 | 35.7% | 9.2% |
| 2022-23 | 42.5% | 9.9% |
| 2021-22 | 32.7% | 11.4% |
| 2018-19 | 32.3% | 13.1% |
| 2017-18 | 48.4% | 20.5% |
| 2016-17 | 10.3% | N/A |
| 2015-16 | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| 2014-15 | 17.7% | 4.1% |
% 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
24.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.5%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 Tahoma High School
Mount Tahoma High School's state test result (24.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Tahoma High School this school | 1,410 | 69.6% | 24.9% |
| Thomas Jefferson High School AUBURN | 1,810 | 71.9% | 22.7% |
| Kent-Meridian High School Kent | 1,639 | 68.9% | 24.6% |
| Todd Beamer High School FEDERAL WAY | 1,412 | 72.8% | 25.9% |
| Lincoln High School Tacoma | 1,556 | 72.7% | 22.3% |
| Decatur High School FEDERAL WAY | 1,352 | 64.8% | 20.1% |
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 Tahoma High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 24.9% | #249 of 271 | #29 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 13.8% | #275 of 321 ▲ 29 | #26 of 32 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #289 of 327 ▲ 12 | #31 of 33 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.0pp | #68 of 259 | #7 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,410 | #104 of 570 | #11 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.4:1 | #197 of 311 | #15 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 80.4% | #1 of 316 | #1 of 35 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 69.6% | #59 of 386 | #6 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.2% | #154 of 164 | #14 of 15 |
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
1,410
+57 (+4%) vs 2020
+35% since 1990-91, when it was 1,045
Student : Teacher
21.4:1
was 21.1:1
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 | 1,410 | 66 | 21.4:1 | 70% (982) |
| 2023-24 | 1,416 | 70 | 20.2:1 | 76% (1,075) |
| 2022-23 | 1,430 | 70.9 | 20.2:1 | 71% (1,021) |
| 2020-21 | 1,353 | 64 | 21.1:1 | 70% (947) |
| 2017-18 | 1,427 | 68.9 | 20.7:1 | 66% (944) |
| 2015-16 | 1,560 | 72 | 21.7:1 | 73% (1,139) |
| 2010-11 | 1,475 | 79 | 18.7:1 | 56% (830) |
| 2000-01 | 1,332 | 67 | 19.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,045 | 56 | 18.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Mount Tahoma High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (1,427 to 1,410); teachers down 4% (68.9 to 66).
About Mount Tahoma High School
Mount Tahoma High School is a large high school in Tacoma, Washington, administered by Tacoma School District. Federal data show 1,410 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25. Across high schools in Washington, the average enrollment is about 573.
Within Tacoma School District, Mount Tahoma High School is one of 66 schools. The district enrolls 28,900 students.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Mount Tahoma High School is Hispanic, with 32% of students. Next come 16% Asian, 16% White, 14% Black, and 13% multiracial. The county population is about 13% Hispanic. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Mount Tahoma High School scores 80%.
Mount Tahoma High School reports a ratio of 21.4 students per teacher, from 66 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among high schools in Washington is similar, at 21.6:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Mount Tahoma High School, 70% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 50% average for public schools in Pierce County, the school's rate is higher.
Mount Tahoma High School holds a C- allk12 Grade, placing it above 15% of Washington public high schools.
In Washington, Mount Tahoma High School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 24.9% actual against a predicted 33.5%.
The school's county is Pierce County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $99,564, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 31%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Pierce County's 287 public schools enroll about 138,462 students and include Mount Tahoma High School.
Manitou Park Elementary School is about 0.6 miles from Mount Tahoma High School, the shortest distance to any other public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Mount Tahoma High School is 6th on average proficiency.
Mount Tahoma High School is coded as City: Mid-size in federal locale data.
Enrollment was 1,410 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 1,353.
People who know Mount Tahoma High School can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
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 Tacoma School District
- Stadium High SchoolHigh · 1,700 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,556 students
- Dr. Dolores Silas High SchoolHigh · 1,160 students
- Baker Middle SchoolMiddle · 687 students
- Tacoma School of the ArtsHigh · 658 students
- Stewart Middle SchoolMiddle · 650 students
Other schools in Tacoma
- Stadium High SchoolHigh · 1,700 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,556 students
- Dr. Dolores Silas High SchoolHigh · 1,160 students
- Washington High SchoolHigh · 989 students
- Franklin Pierce High SchoolHigh · 977 students
- Fife High SchoolHigh · 885 students
Nearby schools
- Manitou Park Elementary School0.6 mi · 429
- Gray Middle School0.8 mi · 510
- Lochburn Middle School0.9 mi · 497
- Dower Elementary School1.0 mi · 337
- Four Heroes Elementary1.0 mi · 541
- General William H. Harrison Preparatory School1.0 mi · 738
Frequently asked questions
About Mount Tahoma High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Mount Tahoma High School?
Mount Tahoma High School enrolls approximately 1,410 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Mount Tahoma High School serve?
Mount Tahoma High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Mount Tahoma High School have?
Mount Tahoma High School employs 66 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Mount Tahoma High School?
Student demographics at Mount Tahoma High School are roughly 16% White, 32% Hispanic, 14% Black, 16% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees Mount Tahoma High School?
Mount Tahoma High School is overseen by Tacoma School District in Pierce County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.