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How has Yelm Prairie Elementary changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
427
Elementary
DISTRICT 440 · STATE 380
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·YELM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 531014001916
Yelm Prairie Elementary
16535 110th Ave. SE, Yelm, WA 98597 · (360) 458-6261 · Thurston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL427 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 49% of Washington public elementary schools
- B-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.
- 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
17.3:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
50%
213 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 6 | 1% |
| Kindergarten | 68 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 56 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 74 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 82 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 61 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 80 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 15% smaller than its 5th grade class (80).
Student demographics
52%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
46.5%
WA avg 58.4% . -2.4pp since 2014
Math
51.6%
WA avg 51.2% . +5.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 52 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 2 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.5% | 51.6% |
| 2023-24 | 43.5% | 48.8% |
| 2022-23 | 48.3% | 50.0% |
| 2021-22 | 44.5% | 46.9% |
| 2018-19 | 57.7% | 51.4% |
| 2017-18 | 57.9% | 47.2% |
| 2016-17 | 58.0% | 52.3% |
| 2015-16 | 54.2% | 52.3% |
| 2014-15 | 49.0% | 46.4% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
48.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 48% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% 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 Yelm Prairie Elementary
Yelm Prairie Elementary's state test result (48.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yelm Prairie Elementary this school | 427 | 49.9% | 48.3% |
| McKenna Elementary McKenna | 418 | 49.3% | 51.1% |
| Cougar Creek Elementary School Arlington | 422 | 50.2% | 41.3% |
| Foothills Elementary Buckley | 470 | 49.8% | 53.0% |
| Central Emerson Elementary Snohomish | 477 | 48.8% | 42.1% |
| Sacajawea Elementary Richland | 474 | 49.6% | 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 Yelm Prairie Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Thurston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.3% | #461 of 936 | #25 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.6% | #411 of 1,103 ▲ 53 | #13 of 39 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.5% | #583 of 1,102 ▲ 53 | #27 of 39 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.3pp | #362 of 928 | #12 of 39 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 427 | #529 of 1,268 | #23 of 43 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.3:1 | #879 of 1,085 | #30 of 40 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.0% | #721 of 1,088 | #32 of 39 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 49.9% | #640 of 1,169 | #16 of 43 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.2% | #599 of 778 | #21 of 27 |
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
427
+27 (+7%) vs 2020
-16% since 1990-91, when it was 510
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
was 16.0:1
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 | 427 | 24.7 | 17.3:1 | 50% (213) |
| 2023-24 | 438 | 26.2 | 16.7:1 | 52% (226) |
| 2022-23 | 440 | 25.4 | 17.3:1 | 53% (235) |
| 2020-21 | 400 | 25 | 16.0:1 | 45% (179) |
| 2017-18 | 465 | 25.4 | 18.3:1 | 42% (194) |
| 2015-16 | 526 | 28 | 18.8:1 | 41% (218) |
| 2010-11 | 499 | 26 | 19.2:1 | 41% (204) |
| 2000-01 | 484 | 24 | 20.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 510 | 26 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Yelm Prairie Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (465 to 427); teachers down 3% (25.4 to 24.7).
About Yelm Prairie Elementary
Yelm Prairie Elementary is an elementary school in Yelm, Washington, and it is part of Yelm School District. The school's 427 students are in pre-K through 5.
Yelm School District has 10 schools; together they serve 5,671 students.
Yelm Prairie Elementary is 65% White by enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 23% Hispanic and 10% multiracial. Yelm Prairie Elementary's diversity index is 52%, against a US figure of 70%.
The count of teachers at Yelm Prairie Elementary is 24.7 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 17.3:1. That is close to the 17.3:1 average for elementary schools in Washington. The school counts 213 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 50%.
Measured against Washington public elementary schools, Yelm Prairie Elementary receives a B-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Yelm Prairie Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 48.3%, compared with a predicted 46.7%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Washington schools on BeatsExpectations.
Thurston County has these Census figures: the median household income is $96,563, roughly 39% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Thurston County is home to 86 public schools and about 44,412 public school students.
Fort Stevens Elementary is the public school closest to Yelm Prairie Elementary, about 1.0 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Yelm Prairie Elementary places 4th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
NCES describes the area around Yelm Prairie Elementary as Town: Fringe, meaning in a town close to an urbanized area.
2024-25 enrollment was 427, a 7% gain from 400 in 2020-21. The ratio of students to teachers went from 16.0:1 to 17.3:1 over the same years.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
- Southworth ElementaryElementary · 671 students
- Yelm Middle SchoolMiddle · 652 students
- Ridgeline Middle SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Fort Stevens ElementaryElementary · 462 students
- McKenna ElementaryElementary · 418 students
Other schools in Yelm
- Yelm High School 12High · 1,693 students
- Southworth ElementaryElementary · 671 students
- Yelm Middle SchoolMiddle · 652 students
- Ridgeline Middle SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Fort Stevens ElementaryElementary · 462 students
- Mill Pond Elementary SchoolElementary · 374 students
Nearby schools
- Fort Stevens Elementary1.0 mi · 462
- Mill Pond Elementary School1.3 mi · 374
- Yelm Extension School1.4 mi · 116
- Ridgeline Middle School1.4 mi · 568
- Yelm Middle School1.7 mi · 652
- McKenna Elementary1.8 mi · 418
Frequently asked questions
About Yelm Prairie ElementaryHow large is Yelm Prairie Elementary?
Yelm Prairie Elementary enrolls approximately 427 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Yelm Prairie Elementary serve?
Yelm Prairie Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Yelm Prairie Elementary?
Approximately 17.3:1 students per teacher at Yelm Prairie Elementary.
How diverse is Yelm Prairie Elementary?
Yelm Prairie Elementary reports a student body of 65% White, 23% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Yelm Prairie Elementary public or private?
Yelm Prairie Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Yelm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.