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Best kept secret at Science and Math Institute?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
597
High
DISTRICT 656 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530870003286
Science and Math Institute
5501 N. Pearl St, Tacoma, WA 98407 · (253) 571-2300 · Pierce County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL597 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 68% of Washington public high 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.
- FThree-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
20.5:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.5:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
213 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 | 173 | 29% |
| Grade 10 | 147 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 166 | 28% |
| Grade 12 | 111 | 19% |
Student demographics
65%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
67.6%
WA avg 58.4% . +11.3pp since 2014
Math
24.1%
WA avg 51.2% . -19.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 24 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 11 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 19 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 67.6% | 24.1% |
| 2023-24 | 70.7% | 33.9% |
| 2022-23 | 71.0% | 35.3% |
| 2021-22 | 80.0% | 48.0% |
| 2018-19 | 80.1% | 48.7% |
| 2017-18 | 74.8% | 51.0% |
| 2016-17 | 68.1% | 31.3% |
| 2015-16 | 20.0% | 43.6% |
| 2014-15 | 56.3% | 43.3% |
% 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
53.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.3%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 53% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 56% 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 Science and Math Institute
Science and Math Institute's state test result (53.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science and Math Institute this school | 597 | 35.7% | 53.4% |
| Capital High School OLYMPIA | 1,322 | 37.7% | 44.9% |
| Vancouver iTech Preparatory VANCOUVER | 600 | 36.3% | N/A |
| Curtis Junior High UNIVERSITY PLACE | 904 | 39.4% | 57.1% |
| Nathan Hale High School SEATTLE | 1,052 | 38.8% | 49.9% |
| Dr. Dolores Silas High School Tacoma | 1,160 | 41.9% | 34.9% |
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 Science and Math Institute ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.4% | #56 of 271 | #7 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 24.1% | #205 of 321 ▼ 95 | #18 of 32 ▼ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.6% | #95 of 327 ▼ 16 | #12 of 33 ▼ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -18.1pp | #2 of 259 | #1 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 597 | #201 of 570 | #29 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.5:1 | #149 of 311 | #11 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.9% | #102 of 316 | #26 of 35 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.7% | #296 of 386 | #32 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +23.3% | #16 of 136 | #1 of 17 |
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
597
-18 (-3%) vs 2020
+197% since 2010-11, when it was 201
Student : Teacher
20.5:1
was 26.7:1
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 | 597 | 29.1 | 20.5:1 | 36% (213) |
| 2023-24 | 604 | 27.8 | 21.7:1 | 39% (238) |
| 2022-23 | 610 | 25.6 | 23.9:1 | 37% (227) |
| 2020-21 | 615 | 23 | 26.7:1 | 36% (222) |
| 2017-18 | 484 | 26.3 | 18.4:1 | 36% (176) |
| 2015-16 | 486 | 24 | 20.3:1 | 39% (190) |
| 2010-11 | 201 | 12 | 16.8:1 | 38% (76) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Science and Math Institute.
Since 2017-18: students up 23% (484 to 597); teachers up 11% (26.3 to 29.1).
About Science and Math Institute
Science and Math Institute is a public medium-sized high school in Tacoma, Washington. A federal count lists 597 students at the school, in grades 9 through 12.
Science and Math Institute is a school in Tacoma School District. The district has 66 schools and 28,900 students.
Science and Math Institute's enrollment is 53% White. The remaining shares are 15% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, 8% Black, and 7% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Pierce County's population at about 64%. Science and Math Institute has a diversity index of 65%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The ratio of students to teachers is 20.5:1, with 29.1 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. For comparison, high schools in Washington average 21.6:1. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 36%. Compared with the 50% average for public schools in Pierce County, the school's rate is lower.
The allk12 Grade for Science and Math Institute is B+. Compared with Washington public high schools, the school scored higher than 68% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Science and Math Institute's average proficiency rate on state tests of 53.4% is 2.8 points below the 56.3% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
According to the American Community Survey, in Pierce County, median household income is about $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 287 public schools operate in Pierce County, serving about 138,462 students.
The closest other public school is Point Defiance Elementary School, about 1.0 miles away. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Science and Math Institute is 4th of 6 on proficiency.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Mid-size, or inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment was 615 in 2020-21 and 597 in 2024-25, a decrease of 18 students. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 26.7:1 to 20.5:1.
To ask about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
- Point Defiance Elementary School1.0 mi · 301
- Truman Middle School1.7 mi · 438
- Sherman Elementary School2.0 mi · 432
- Skyline Elementary School2.3 mi · 329
- Tacoma Online Middle School2.4 mi · 170
- Tacoma Online Elementary School2.4 mi · 144
Frequently asked questions
About Science and Math InstituteWhat is the total enrollment at Science and Math Institute?
Science and Math Institute enrolls approximately 597 students in grades 09-12.
Is Science and Math Institute an elementary, middle, or high school?
Science and Math Institute is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Science and Math Institute have?
Science and Math Institute employs 29 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.5:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Science and Math Institute?
At Science and Math Institute, the student body is approximately 53% White, 15% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Is Science and Math Institute public or private?
Science and Math Institute 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.