Is Washington Elementary a good school?

Washington Elementary ranks 1265 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Washington Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 486 students attended Washington Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Washington Elementary?

Students at Washington Elementary are 48% White, 38% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Washington Elementary attend?

Students who attend Washington Elementary usually go on to attend: High : Santa Barbara Senior High

Washington Elementary

Summary:

Washington Elementary is a public elementary school located in Santa Barbara, California, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 524 students. It is part of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, which is ranked 696 out of 1,568 districts in California and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Washington Elementary consistently ranks in the top 25% of California elementary schools, with strong academic performance that exceeds the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2023-2024, 58.82% of Washington Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 49.44% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school's performance is particularly impressive in 3rd grade English Language Arts/Literacy, where 75.86% of students were proficient or better, compared to 46.1% for the district and 42.8% for the state. In mathematics, 55.15% of Washington Elementary students were proficient or better in the end-of-course assessment, compared to 39.4% for the district and 35.54% for the state.

However, the school faces some challenges, with its Hispanic students and English Language Learner students performing below the district and state averages. Additionally, Washington Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 4.5% in 2017-2018 to 17.5% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district average of 13.8%. Compared to nearby schools, Washington Elementary outperforms Cleveland Elementary and Santa Barbara Community Academy, but lags behind the higher-performing Peabody Charter school.

Detail:

Public K-6

290 Lighthouse Rd.
Santa Barbara, CA 93109-1905

(805) 965-6653

District: Santa Barbara Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1265^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,839

Students who attend Washington Elementary usually attend:

High:

Santa Barbara Senior High

Student/teacher ratio: 17.4

Number of students: 486

Racial breakdown:

White:

47.5%

Hispanic:

38.3%

Two or more races:

10.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 45.1%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Washington Elementary ranks better than 78.4% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks first among 10 ranked elementary schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 77.55. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (47.5%), Hispanic (38.3%), two or more races (10.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 45.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Washington Elementary is 17.4. 6 elementary schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Washington Elementary employs 27.9 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Washington Elementary is $11,839, which is the 5^th highest among 10 elementary schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Washington Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Washington Elementary 1265^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Washington Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Santa Barbara Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Barbara Unified 696^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Washington Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2013	85.50	727^th	5530	86.9%
2015	91.70	529^th	5611	90.6%
2016	89.94	620^th	5614	89.0%
2017	89.38	670^th	5692	88.2%
2018	90.20	629^th	5662	88.9%
2019	88.99	705^th	5789	87.8%
2022	75.32	1390^th	5883	76.4%
2023	71.80	1502^nd	5874	74.4%
2024	77.55	1265^th	5862	78.4%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	63.15	750^th	3246	76.9%
2019	57.31	915^th	3275	72.1%
2022	32.02	2446^th	3311	26.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	82.20	590^th	5084	88.4%
2019	74.07	971^st	5173	81.2%
2022	62.86	1521^st	5264	71.1%
2023	56.16	1975^th	5374	63.2%
2024	75.47	1037^th	5511	81.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	86.55	739^th	5413	86.3%
2019	88.43	647^th	5492	88.2%
2022	76.87	1250^th	5635	77.8%
2023	69.06	1544^th	5617	72.5%
2024	71.65	1418^th	5605	74.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	72.05	382^nd	2128	82.0%
2019	53.91	870^th	2585	66.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	28.15	96^th	130	26.2%
2023	46.46	76^th	140	45.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	90.79	524^th	5431	90.4%
2019	87.35	717^th	5510	87.0%
2022	69.82	1535^th	5663	72.9%
2023	70.51	1491^st	5650	73.6%
2024	81.16	1035^th	5636	81.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	81.21	635^th	4830	86.9%
2019	72.71	1027^th	4963	79.3%
2022	47.22	2382^nd	5084	53.1%
2023	45.26	2544^th	5098	50.1%
2024	55.31	1929^th	5102	62.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Washington Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	88.03	150^th	2737	94.5%
2019	90.06	97^th	2834	96.6%
2022	74.71	634^th	2726	76.7%
2023	71.01	767^th	2662	71.2%
2024	77.00	545^th	2647	79.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Thursday, July 28, 2016

We love Washington! Arriving in the middle of a school year can be daunting for a child. Everyone from the office staff, students and especially teachers made my son feel welcommed and an integral part of his 5th grade class despite only being with his peers for 3.5 months of the year. Teachers care! At the end of the school year we were blown away at the individualized culmination of the class with Mr. N specifically calling up each child and speaking indepth about how each student made a personal valued contribution to the classroom experience. Could not be happier with our experience and based on our limited time at the school have nothing but accolades to share. Good luck with your child's elementary school experience in SB! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Washington Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2012	358	5	14	221	4	3	25	630
2013	360	5	16	221	4	3	20	629
2014	337	4	15	235	2	3	18	614
2015	362	5	12	228	2	2	15	626
2016	341	6	21	229	1	1	3	602
2017	347	2	22	227	1	0	5	604
2018	316	2	19	237	0	0	7	581
2019	314	3	27	251	1	0	10	606
2020	305	2	25	250	1	1	16	600
2021	285	3	23	226	1	1	22	561
2022	250	5	21	223	2	1	35	537
2023	247	2	21	208	1	1	44	524
2024	231	2	14	186	1	1	51	486

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Washington Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2012	630	25.0	25.2	n/a
2013	629	24.0	26.2	30.5
2014	614	24.0	25.5	34
2015	626	24.0	26.0	30.5
2016	602	23.0	26.1	33.1
2017	604	23.0	26.2	33.1
2018	581	23.0	25.2	39.6
2019	606	23.0	26.3	41.1
2020	600	n/a	n/a	40
2021	561	27.0	20.7	41.2
2022	537	30.0	17.9	48
2023	524	28.9	18.0	46
2024	486	27.9	17.4	45.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Washington Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2012	630	25.0	25.2	n/a
2013	629	24.0	26.2	30.5
2014	614	24.0	25.5	34
2015	626	24.0	26.0	30.5
2016	602	23.0	26.1	33.1
2017	604	23.0	26.2	33.1
2018	581	23.0	25.2	39.6
2019	606	23.0	26.3	41.1
2020	600	n/a	n/a	40
2021	561	27.0	20.7	41.2
2022	537	30.0	17.9	48
2023	524	28.9	18.0	46
2024	486	27.9	17.4	45.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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