Enrollment
100
Elementary
DISTRICT 64 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PALOUSE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530654000960
Palouse Elementary
600 E Alder Street, Palouse, WA 99161 · (509) 878-1921 · Whitman County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL100 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
10 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.1:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
47 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 51%
Community
0
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 | 8 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 24 | 24% |
| Grade 1 | 12 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 11 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 13 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 12 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 20 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (24) is 20% larger than its 5th grade class (20).
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 25% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Palouse School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
65.2%
WA avg 58.4% . +3.7pp since 2014
Math
67.4%
WA avg 51.2% . -1.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 67 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 4 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 2 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 65.2% | 67.4% |
| 2023-24 | 52.2% | 60.9% |
| 2022-23 | 44.7% | 42.1% |
| 2021-22 | 72.7% | 75.0% |
| 2018-19 | 73.8% | 66.7% |
| 2017-18 | 72.2% | 55.6% |
| 2016-17 | 50.0% | 56.5% |
| 2015-16 | 68.3% | 48.8% |
| 2014-15 | 61.5% | 69.2% |
% 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
56.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Palouse Elementary
Palouse Elementary's state test result (56.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palouse Elementary this school | 100 | 47.0% | 56.7% |
| Carrolls Elementary Kelso | 107 | 52.3% | N/A |
| Wilbur Elementary School Wilbur | 117 | 43.6% | 43.0% |
| Tekoa Elementary School TEKOA | 91 | 42.9% | 40.9% |
| Boistfort Elem Curtis | 87 | 42.5% | 38.0% |
| P C Jantz Elementary ODESSA | 121 | 43.0% | 46.1% |
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 Palouse Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Whitman County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 56.7% | #312 of 936 | #5 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 67.4% | #157 of 1,103 ▲ 88 | #4 of 6 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.2% | #221 of 1,102 ▲ 227 | #4 of 6 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -7.6pp | #70 of 928 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 100 | #1,169 of 1,268 | #6 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 47.0% | #692 of 1,169 | #3 of 6 |
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
100
+15 (+18%) vs 2020
-61% since 1990-91, when it was 254
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
was 12.1:1
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 | 100 | 9.6 | 10.4:1 | 47% (47) |
| 2023-24 | 90 | 10 | 9.0:1 | 52% (47) |
| 2022-23 | 83 | 9.8 | 8.5:1 | 53% (44) |
| 2020-21 | 85 | 7 | 12.1:1 | 39% (33) |
| 2017-18 | 89 | 8 | 11.1:1 | 31% (28) |
| 2015-16 | 93 | 6 | 15.5:1 | 37% (34) |
| 2010-11 | 85 | 5 | 17.0:1 | 46% (39) |
| 2000-01 | 113 | 8 | 14.1:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 254 | 17 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Palouse Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (89 to 100); teachers up 19% (8 to 9.6).
About Palouse Elementary
Federal records list Palouse Elementary as an elementary school in Palouse, Washington. School enrollment was 100 students in 2024-25, in pre-K through 5. The average among elementary schools in Washington is roughly 380 students; this school is 74% smaller than that.
Palouse School District is made up of 3 schools with 191 students in all.
At Palouse Elementary, White students make up 83% of the student body. It is also 13% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. The chance that two students picked at random at Palouse Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 29%.
Palouse Elementary's 9.6 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 10.4:1. That ratio is under the 17.3:1 average for elementary schools in Washington. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 47%.
Palouse Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 56.7%, compared with a predicted 48.7%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Washington schools on BeatsExpectations.
Federal survey data for Whitman County show that median household income is about $55,406, roughly 50% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Palouse Elementary is among the 28 public schools in Whitman County.
The closest public school to Palouse Elementary is Palouse at Garfield Middle School, less than a tenth of a mile away. Other public schools within five miles number 3. Among 7 nearby schools that report test results, Palouse Elementary ranks 3rd on proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Remote: in rural territory far from an urban area.
Palouse Elementary had 85 students in 2020-21 and 100 in 2024-25, an 18% increase. The ratio of students to teachers went from 12.1:1 to 10.4:1 over the same years.
The Palouse Elementary community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Whitman County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
47,003
Census ACS
Median income
$55,406
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
50%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
4,753 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Palouse School District
- Palouse High SchoolHigh · 57 students
- Palouse at Garfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 34 students
Other schools in Palouse
- Palouse High SchoolHigh · 57 students
- Garfield at Palouse High SchoolHigh · 45 students
- Palouse at Garfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 34 students
Nearby schools
- Palouse at Garfield Middle School0.0 mi · 34
- Garfield at Palouse High School0.0 mi · 45
- Palouse High School0.0 mi · 57
- Garfield Middle School7.7 mi · 31
- Garfield Elementary7.7 mi · 51
- POTLATCH JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL7.9 mi · 209
Frequently asked questions
About Palouse ElementaryHow large is Palouse Elementary?
Palouse Elementary enrolls approximately 100 students in grades PK-05.
Is Palouse Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Palouse Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palouse Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Palouse Elementary is approximately 10.4:1 (10 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Palouse Elementary?
Palouse Elementary reports a student body of 83% White, 13% Hispanic, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Palouse Elementary?
Palouse Elementary is overseen by Palouse School District in Whitman County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.