Enrollment
301
Elementary
DISTRICT 356 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530870001493
Point Defiance Elementary School
4330 N Visscher St, Tacoma, WA 98407 · (253) 571-6900 · Pierce County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL301 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% 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.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.2:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
34%
102 students
DISTRICT 57% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 48 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 37 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 57 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 56 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (48) is 16% smaller than its 5th grade class (57).
Student demographics
56%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
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
63.3%
WA avg 58.4% . +3.3pp since 2014
Math
59.5%
WA avg 51.2% . -5.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 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 3 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 5 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 63.3% | 59.5% |
| 2023-24 | 69.5% | 59.7% |
| 2022-23 | 63.4% | 54.6% |
| 2021-22 | 61.0% | 53.9% |
| 2018-19 | 70.3% | 66.0% |
| 2017-18 | 70.0% | 68.5% |
| 2016-17 | 71.2% | 65.9% |
| 2015-16 | 63.2% | 65.5% |
| 2014-15 | 60.0% | 64.6% |
% 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
62.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.5%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Point Defiance Elementary School
Point Defiance Elementary School's state test result (62.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point Defiance Elementary School this school | 301 | 33.9% | 62.9% |
| Sunnyside Elementary Pullman | 326 | 30.1% | 70.8% |
| Vancouver Innovation Technology and Arts Elementary Vancouver | 300 | 31.7% | N/A |
| Franklin Elementary Pullman | 274 | 30.3% | 80.0% |
| Lowell Elementary School Tacoma | 331 | 30.2% | 69.1% |
| Lake Shore Elementary VANCOUVER | 300 | 31.3% | N/A |
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 Point Defiance Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.9% | #215 of 936 | #29 of 142 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 59.5% | #264 of 1,103 ▼ 2 | #33 of 142 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.3% | #241 of 1,102 ▼ 80 | #27 of 142 ▼ 10 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.9pp | #332 of 928 | #53 of 141 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 301 | #949 of 1,268 | #131 of 155 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.3:1 | #661 of 1,085 | #80 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.5% | #600 of 1,088 | #113 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 33.9% | #885 of 1,169 | #123 of 148 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.4% | #223 of 778 | #22 of 91 |
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
301
-37 (-11%) vs 2020
-46% since 1990-91, when it was 562
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
was 15.4:1
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 | 301 | 18.5 | 16.3:1 | 34% (102) |
| 2023-24 | 300 | 20.5 | 14.6:1 | 34% (103) |
| 2022-23 | 333 | 20.5 | 16.2:1 | 26% (88) |
| 2020-21 | 338 | 22 | 15.4:1 | 33% (113) |
| 2017-18 | 393 | 20.7 | 18.9:1 | 36% (141) |
| 2015-16 | 441 | 22 | 20.1:1 | 46% (204) |
| 2010-11 | 394 | 21 | 18.8:1 | 53% (210) |
| 2000-01 | 412 | 21 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 562 | 28 | 20.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Point Defiance Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 23% (393 to 301); teachers down 11% (20.7 to 18.5).
About Point Defiance Elementary School
Point Defiance Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in Tacoma, Washington. The school offers kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 301 students. Across elementary schools in Washington, the average enrollment is about 380.
Point Defiance Elementary School is part of a district of 66 schools: Tacoma School District, with 28,900 students.
The student body at Point Defiance Elementary School is 63% White. The rest of enrollment is 13% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 5% Asian, and 4% Black. Among Pierce County residents, the White share is about 64%. A diversity index of 56% means there is a 56% chance two randomly chosen students at Point Defiance Elementary School are from different groups.
The school has 18.5 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 16.3 students per teacher. The average for elementary schools in Washington is 17.3:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. The school reported 34% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Pierce County is 50%.
Point Defiance Elementary School holds an A- allk12 Grade, placing it above 79% of Washington public elementary schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 57.5% for Point Defiance Elementary School. The school posts 62.9%, 5.4 points above the prediction.
For the population of Pierce County, median household income comes to about $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Point Defiance Elementary School shares Pierce County with 286 other public schools.
Point Defiance Elementary School is about 0.7 miles from Truman Middle School, its nearest public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Point Defiance Elementary School is 3rd of 6 on proficiency.
Point Defiance Elementary School falls in the City: Mid-size locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment was 301 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 338.
On allk12, people connected to Point Defiance Elementary School can post about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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
- Mount Tahoma High SchoolHigh · 1,410 students
- Dr. Dolores Silas High SchoolHigh · 1,160 students
- Baker Middle SchoolMiddle · 687 students
- Tacoma School of the ArtsHigh · 658 students
Other schools in Tacoma
- Stadium High SchoolHigh · 1,700 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,556 students
- Mount Tahoma High SchoolHigh · 1,410 students
- Dr. Dolores Silas High SchoolHigh · 1,160 students
- Washington High SchoolHigh · 989 students
- Franklin Pierce High SchoolHigh · 977 students
Nearby schools
- Truman Middle School0.7 mi · 438
- Science and Math Institute1.0 mi · 597
- Sherman Elementary School1.0 mi · 432
- Skyline Elementary School1.4 mi · 329
- Downing Elementary School1.4 mi · 298
- Tacoma Online Elementary School1.4 mi · 144
Frequently asked questions
About Point Defiance Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Point Defiance Elementary School?
Point Defiance Elementary School enrolls approximately 301 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Point Defiance Elementary School serve?
Point Defiance Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Point Defiance Elementary School?
Approximately 16.3:1 students per teacher at Point Defiance Elementary School.
What is the student diversity at Point Defiance Elementary School?
Student demographics at Point Defiance Elementary School are roughly 63% White, 13% Hispanic, 4% Black, 5% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Point Defiance Elementary School public or private?
Point Defiance Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Tacoma School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.