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How has Pioneer Elementary School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
481
Elementary
DISTRICT 405 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENINSULA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530669003760
Pioneer Elementary School
8402 Skansie Ave, Gig Harbor, WA 98332 · (253) 530-3500 · Pierce County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL481 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 66% of Washington public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-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
16.3:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
13%
64 students
DISTRICT 26% · 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 | 80 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 80 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 86 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 82 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 78 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 75 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (80) is 7% larger than its 5th grade class (75).
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
71.0%
WA avg 58.4% . +6.6pp since 2021
Math
69.7%
WA avg 51.2% . +11.5pp since 2021
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 70 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 7 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 11 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 71.0% | 69.7% |
| 2023-24 | 60.3% | 60.1% |
| 2022-23 | 67.7% | 62.9% |
| 2021-22 | 64.4% | 58.3% |
% 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
67.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.3%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% 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 Pioneer Elementary School
Pioneer Elementary School's state test result (67.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Elementary School this school | 481 | 13.3% | 67.2% |
| Swift Water Elementary Gig Harbor | 519 | 13.5% | 69.1% |
| North Bend Elementary School NORTH BEND | 466 | 13.7% | 73.0% |
| Loyal Heights Elementary School SEATTLE | 527 | 11.4% | 74.6% |
| Voyager Elementary Gig Harbor | 443 | 12.2% | 70.3% |
| Fall City Elementary FALL CITY | 456 | 16.9% | 78.3% |
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 Pioneer Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.2% | #169 of 936 | #22 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.7% | #128 of 1,103 ▲ 130 | #11 of 142 ▲ 22 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #142 of 1,102 ▲ 154 | #14 of 142 ▲ 25 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.0pp | #106 of 928 | #19 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 481 | #345 of 1,268 | #54 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.3:1 | #668 of 1,085 | #81 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 41.1% | #900 of 1,088 | #135 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 13.3% | #1,094 of 1,169 | #147 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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
481
+174 (+57%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
was 15.3:1
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 | 481 | 29.5 | 16.3:1 | 13% (64) |
| 2023-24 | 494 | 30 | 16.5:1 | 12% (58) |
| 2022-23 | 506 | 28.8 | 17.6:1 | 13% (68) |
| 2020-21 | 307 | 20 | 15.3:1 | 11% (35) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pioneer Elementary School.
About Pioneer Elementary School
Pioneer Elementary School is an elementary school in Gig Harbor, Washington, reachable at (253) 530-3500. Its 481 students are spread across kindergarten through 5. The typical figure for elementary schools in Washington is about 380 students.
Federal data list 17 schools in Peninsula School District, with 9,015 students enrolled.
Pioneer Elementary School's enrollment is 75% White. Other groups make up 11% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. County-wide, 64% of Pierce County residents are White. By the diversity index, Pioneer Elementary School comes in at 41%.
Federal data list 29.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at Pioneer Elementary School in 2024-25, for a ratio of 16.3:1. Among elementary schools in Washington, the typical ratio is 17.3:1. The lunch program counts 13% of students at Pioneer Elementary School as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Public schools in Pierce County average 50%.
The allk12 Grade for Pioneer Elementary School is B+. Compared with Washington public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 66% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 71.3% for Pioneer Elementary School. The school posts 67.2%, 4.1 points below the prediction.
Among Pierce County residents, median household income is about $99,564, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 31%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Pioneer Elementary School is one of 287 public schools in Pierce County, which together enroll about 138,462 students.
Henderson Bay Alt High School is the closest public school, about 0.2 miles away in a straight line. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. By average proficiency, Pioneer Elementary School is 5th among 8 schools close by.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.
The 2020-21 count was 307 students and the 2024-25 count was 481. A difference that large may reflect a change in which grades the school serves.
Discussions about Pioneer Elementary School may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome 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 Peninsula School District
- Gig Harbor HighHigh · 1,375 students
- Peninsula High SchoolHigh · 1,345 students
- Harbor Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 627 students
- Goodman Middle SchoolMiddle · 519 students
- Swift Water ElementaryElementary · 519 students
- Kopachuck Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
Other schools in Gig Harbor
- Gig Harbor HighHigh · 1,375 students
- Peninsula High SchoolHigh · 1,345 students
- Harbor Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 627 students
- Goodman Middle SchoolMiddle · 519 students
- Swift Water ElementaryElementary · 519 students
- Kopachuck Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
Other Pioneer Elementary schools
28 other US public schools in 12 states are named Pioneer Elementary. Pioneer Elementary School is the 16th largest of the 29.
- Pioneer Elementary SchoolAUBURN, WA · 621 students
- Pioneer Elementary SchoolSunnyside, WA · 602 students
- Pioneer Elementary SchoolVancouver, WA · 550 students
- Pioneer ElementaryArlington, WA · 501 students
- Pioneer Elementary SchoolSHELTON, WA · 482 students
Nearby schools
- Henderson Bay Alt High School0.2 mi · 139
- Discovery Elementary School0.3 mi · 380
- Gig Harbor High0.3 mi · 1,375
- Harbor Ridge Middle School0.7 mi · 627
- Swift Water Elementary1.5 mi · 519
- Artondale Elementary School2.9 mi · 413
Frequently asked questions
About Pioneer Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Pioneer Elementary School?
Pioneer Elementary School enrolls approximately 481 students in grades KG-05.
Is Pioneer Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Pioneer Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Pioneer Elementary School?
Approximately 16.3:1 students per teacher at Pioneer Elementary School.
How diverse is Pioneer Elementary School?
Pioneer Elementary School reports a student body of 75% White, 9% Hispanic, 1% Black, 4% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Who oversees Pioneer Elementary School?
Pioneer Elementary School is overseen by Peninsula School District in Pierce County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.