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What's the biggest difference between White River High School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,340
High
DISTRICT 690 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WHITE RIVER SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530978003153
White River High School
26928 120th St E, Buckley, WA 98321 · (360) 829-3352 · Pierce County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,340 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
22.8:1
59 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.8:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
31%
419 students
DISTRICT 38% · 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 | 346 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 370 | 28% |
| Grade 11 | 316 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 308 | 23% |
Student demographics
39%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 43% · 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
72.7%
WA avg 58.4% . +19.0pp since 2014
Math
29.7%
WA avg 51.2% . +6.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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 19 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 6 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 72.7% | 29.7% |
| 2023-24 | 73.3% | 31.1% |
| 2022-23 | 61.3% | 32.5% |
| 2021-22 | 68.3% | 30.1% |
| 2018-19 | 74.7% | 43.9% |
| 2017-18 | 69.8% | 42.6% |
| 2016-17 | 13.4% | 13.2% |
| 2015-16 | 24.7% | 27.1% |
| 2014-15 | 53.7% | 23.4% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of WA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
45.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.2%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 59% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 White River High School
White River High School's state test result (45.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| White River High School this school | 1,340 | 31.3% | 45.8% |
| Stanwood High School STANWOOD | 1,384 | 31.0% | 47.3% |
| Enumclaw Sr High School Enumclaw | 1,333 | 31.6% | 37.6% |
| Klahowya Secondary SILVERDALE | 1,016 | 32.0% | 45.7% |
| Tumwater High School Tumwater | 1,117 | 30.6% | 49.2% |
| Mead Senior High School SPOKANE | 1,827 | 32.6% | 52.3% |
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 White River High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Pierce County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.8% | #116 of 271 | #11 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.7% | #155 of 321 ▼ 24 | #12 of 32 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.7% | #66 of 327 ▼ 5 | #6 of 33 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.0pp | #85 of 259 | #11 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,340 | #116 of 570 | #14 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.8:1 | #252 of 311 | #23 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.8% | #259 of 316 | #33 of 35 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 31.3% | #320 of 386 | #35 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +11.9% | #60 of 136 | #7 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
1,340
+154 (+13%) vs 2020
+10% since 2010-11, when it was 1,221
Student : Teacher
22.8:1
was 21.6:1
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 | 1,340 | 58.8 | 22.8:1 | 31% (419) |
| 2023-24 | 1,351 | 57.3 | 23.6:1 | 33% (442) |
| 2022-23 | 1,263 | 56.7 | 22.3:1 | 32% (399) |
| 2020-21 | 1,186 | 55 | 21.6:1 | 25% (292) |
| 2017-18 | 1,197 | 56.6 | 21.1:1 | 26% (313) |
| 2015-16 | 1,203 | 56 | 21.5:1 | 26% (316) |
| 2010-11 | 1,221 | 56 | 21.8:1 | 26% (316) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for White River High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (1,197 to 1,340); teachers up 4% (56.6 to 58.8).
About White River High School
White River High School, located in Buckley, Washington, is a high-enrollment high school. The school's 1,340 students are in grades 9 through 12. Statewide, high schools in Washington average about 573 students each.
Federal data list 9 schools in White River School District, with 4,475 students enrolled.
White students are the majority at White River High School, with 77% of enrollment. Enrollment also includes 14% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. The school's White share is 13 points above the 64% share among Pierce County residents. White River High School's diversity index is 39%, against a US figure of 70%.
White River High School employs 58.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 22.8:1. That is 1.2 students per teacher above the 21.6:1 average for high schools in Washington. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 31%. Compared with the 50% average for public schools in Pierce County, the school's rate is lower.
White River High School scores 13.5 points below its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests: 45.8% actual versus 59.2% predicted. That puts it in the bottom 10% of Washington schools on BeatsExpectations.
Federal survey data for Pierce County show that the median household income is $99,564, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. There are 287 public schools in Pierce County, enrolling about 138,462 students in all.
The nearest public school is White River Reengagement Program, at less than a tenth of a mile. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. White River High School places 6th of 6 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES describes the area around White River High School as Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
White River High School's enrollment grew from 1,186 in 2020-21 to 1,340 in 2024-25. Federal data show the ratio rising from 21.6:1 to 22.8:1.
Parents and students can post about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater at White River High School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 White River School District
- Glacier Middle SchoolMiddle · 999 students
- Elk Ridge ElementaryElementary · 564 students
- Foothills ElementaryElementary · 470 students
- Mountain Meadow ElementaryElementary · 443 students
- White River Early Learning CenterElementary · 360 students
- Wilkeson Elementary SchoolElementary · 253 students
Other schools in Buckley
- Glacier Middle SchoolMiddle · 999 students
- Elk Ridge ElementaryElementary · 564 students
- Foothills ElementaryElementary · 470 students
- Mountain Meadow ElementaryElementary · 443 students
- White River Early Learning CenterElementary · 360 students
- White River Reengagement ProgramHigh · 40 students
Other White River High schools
One other US public school is named White River High. White River High School is the largest of the 2.
- White River High School - 01White River, SD · 112 students
Nearby schools
- White River Reengagement Program0.0 mi · 40
- White River Early Learning Center0.6 mi · 360
- Mountain Meadow Elementary0.7 mi · 443
- Foothills Elementary2.2 mi · 470
- White River Special Ed Services2.6 mi · 6
- Glacier Middle School2.7 mi · 999
Frequently asked questions
About White River High SchoolHow large is White River High School?
White River High School enrolls approximately 1,340 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does White River High School serve?
White River High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at White River High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at White River High School is approximately 22.8:1 (59 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at White River High School?
At White River High School, the student body is approximately 77% White, 14% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is White River High School in?
White River High School is part of White River School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.