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Which teacher or staff member at Southworth Elementary deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
671
Elementary
DISTRICT 440 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·YELM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 531014001715
Southworth Elementary
13849 Yelm Hwy SE, Yelm, WA 98597 · (360) 458-2500 · Thurston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL671 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 22% of Washington public elementary schools
- C+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.
- DThree-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
20.2:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
312 students
DISTRICT 50% · 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 | 100 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 110 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 111 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 116 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 122 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 112 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (100) is 11% smaller than its 5th grade class (112).
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · 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
40.9%
WA avg 58.4% . -1.3pp since 2014
Math
39.3%
WA avg 51.2% . -1.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 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 | 40.9% | 39.3% |
| 2023-24 | 45.4% | 39.0% |
| 2022-23 | 45.5% | 41.6% |
| 2021-22 | 49.5% | 40.6% |
| 2018-19 | 56.8% | 48.5% |
| 2017-18 | 44.3% | 44.9% |
| 2016-17 | 45.6% | 37.3% |
| 2015-16 | 54.7% | 44.2% |
| 2014-15 | 42.3% | 41.2% |
% 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
44.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.0%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% 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 Southworth Elementary
Southworth Elementary's state test result (44.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southworth Elementary this school | 671 | 46.5% | 44.8% |
| Warren Hunt Elem Puyallup | 681 | 48.9% | 46.2% |
| South Bay Elementary Lacey | 595 | 42.4% | 53.6% |
| Peter G Schmidt Elementary Tumwater | 606 | 44.9% | 49.1% |
| Pleasant Valley Primary VANCOUVER | 591 | 48.7% | N/A |
| Woodland Elementary Puyallup | 606 | 49.8% | 59.9% |
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 Southworth Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Thurston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.8% | #524 of 936 | #29 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.3% | #677 of 1,103 ▼ 23 | #32 of 39 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.9% | #723 of 1,102 ▼ 131 | #34 of 39 ▼ 7 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.9pp | #149 of 928 | #8 of 39 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 671 | #46 of 1,268 | #3 of 43 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.2:1 | #1,064 of 1,085 | #40 of 40 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.1% | #456 of 1,088 | #20 of 39 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 46.5% | #702 of 1,169 | #19 of 43 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +24.0% | #46 of 257 | #3 of 13 |
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
671
+137 (+26%) vs 2020
+77% since 1990-91, when it was 380
Student : Teacher
20.2:1
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 | 671 | 33.2 | 20.2:1 | 46% (312) |
| 2023-24 | 669 | 38.2 | 17.5:1 | 45% (301) |
| 2022-23 | 628 | 37.2 | 16.9:1 | 45% (283) |
| 2020-21 | 534 | 35 | 15.3:1 | 40% (211) |
| 2017-18 | 541 | 30.9 | 17.5:1 | 42% (229) |
| 2015-16 | 572 | 32 | 17.9:1 | 40% (229) |
| 2010-11 | 492 | 25 | 19.7:1 | 40% (196) |
| 2000-01 | 365 | 19 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 380 | 21 | 18.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southworth Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 24% (541 to 671); teachers up 8% (30.9 to 33.2).
About Southworth Elementary
Southworth Elementary is an elementary school in Yelm, Washington, reachable at (360) 458-2500. The school has 671 students in 2024-25 across pre-K through 5. That compares with an average of about 380 students for elementary schools in Washington.
Southworth Elementary is part of Yelm School District, where 10 schools serve 5,671 students.
The student body at Southworth Elementary is 55% White. The rest of enrollment is 21% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, 4% Asian, and 4% Black. Among all residents of Thurston County, the White share is about 72%. A diversity index of 63% means there is a 63% chance two randomly chosen students at Southworth Elementary are from different groups.
The school lists 33.2 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.2:1. The average for elementary schools in Washington, 17.3:1, is lower. A total of 312 students, or 46%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Thurston County average a similar 43%.
Southworth Elementary holds a C- allk12 Grade, placing it above 22% of Washington public elementary schools.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 44.8%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 49.0%.
For the population of Thurston County, the median household earns about $96,563 a year, about 39% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Southworth Elementary shares Thurston County with 85 other public schools.
A public school about 1.5 miles away, Yelm High School 12, is the closest to Southworth Elementary. Southworth Elementary has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. The school's 44.8% average proficiency ranks 6th among 8 nearby schools.
The school's locale code, Rural: Fringe, means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased from 534 to 671, a 26% rise. Federal data show the ratio rising from 15.3:1 to 20.2:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Southworth Elementary. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Thurston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
299,067
Census ACS
Median income
$96,563
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
86
44,412 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Yelm School District
- Yelm High School 12High · 1,693 students
- Yelm Middle SchoolMiddle · 652 students
- Ridgeline Middle SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Fort Stevens ElementaryElementary · 462 students
- Yelm Prairie ElementaryElementary · 427 students
- McKenna ElementaryElementary · 418 students
Other schools in Yelm
- Yelm High School 12High · 1,693 students
- Yelm Middle SchoolMiddle · 652 students
- Ridgeline Middle SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Fort Stevens ElementaryElementary · 462 students
- Yelm Prairie ElementaryElementary · 427 students
- Mill Pond Elementary SchoolElementary · 374 students
Nearby schools
- Yelm High School 121.5 mi · 1,693
- Yelm Middle School2.3 mi · 652
- Yelm Extension School2.5 mi · 116
- Ridgeline Middle School2.7 mi · 568
- Mill Pond Elementary School2.8 mi · 374
- Fort Stevens Elementary3.2 mi · 462
Frequently asked questions
About Southworth ElementaryHow large is Southworth Elementary?
Southworth Elementary enrolls approximately 671 students in grades PK-05.
Is Southworth Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southworth Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southworth Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southworth Elementary is approximately 20.2:1 (33 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Southworth Elementary?
Student demographics at Southworth Elementary are roughly 55% White, 21% Hispanic, 4% Black, 4% Asian, 11% Two or more.
What district is Southworth Elementary in?
Southworth Elementary is part of Yelm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.