Is Puyallup Online Academy/POA a good school?

Puyallup Online Academy/POA ranks 313 th of 535 Washington alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Puyallup Online Academy/POA?

In the 2022-23 school year, 322 students attended Puyallup Online Academy/POA.

What is the racial makeup of Puyallup Online Academy/POA?

Students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA are 48% White, 19% Hispanic, 15% Two or more races, 7% African American, 5% Asian, 3% Pacific Islander, 3% American Indian.

Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Summary:

Puyallup Online Academy/POA is a small, alternative public virtual school serving grades K-12 in the Puyallup School District. The school has seen a decline in its white student population in recent years, with increases in Hispanic and multiracial students.

Puyallup Online Academy/POA has made significant progress in improving its four-year graduation rate, which increased from 36.8% in 2018-2019 to 76.7% in 2022-2023. However, the school's dropout rate remains higher than the district and state averages, and its test scores, particularly in English Language Arts, are generally lower than nearby traditional public schools like PSD Special Services. The school serves a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch compared to the district overall.

While Puyallup Online Academy/POA's performance lags behind nearby traditional public schools, it outperforms the virtual Internet Academy in the Federal Way School District in several areas, including graduation rates and test scores. The school also has a more diverse student population compared to nearby schools, such as the 100% Native American student population at Chief Leschi School. Continued focus on supporting the unique needs of its students and exploring best practices for virtual learning may help Puyallup Online Academy/POA achieve greater success.

Detail:

Public, Virtual, Alternative K-12

1501 39th Ave SW
Puyallup, WA 98373

(253) 864-5700

District: Puyallup School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
313^th of 535 Washington Alternative Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $10,393

Student/teacher ratio: 28.8

Number of students: 322

Racial breakdown:

White:

48.1%

Hispanic:

18.6%

Two or more races:

14.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 57.8%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Puyallup Online Academy/POA to nearby alternative schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Puyallup Online Academy/POA is not ranked due for the most recent year due to insufficient test score data. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2021 the calculated Average Standard Score was 83.65. (See more...)

Compare Details Puyallup Online Academy/POA ranks worse than 58.5% of middle schools in Washington. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 38.67. (See more...)

Compare Details Puyallup Online Academy/POA ranks worse than 66.4% of high schools in Washington. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 35.44. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Puyallup Online Academy/POA is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (48.1%), Hispanic (18.6%), two or more races (14.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 57.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Puyallup Online Academy/POA is 28.8. (See more...)

Compare Puyallup Online Academy/POA employs 11.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Puyallup Online Academy/POA is $10,393.

Schooldigger 2021 Rankings:

Puyallup Online Academy/POA:

SchoolDigger ranks Puyallup Online Academy/POA 313^th of 535 Washington public middle schools. (See Puyallup Online Academy/POA in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

White students:

SchoolDigger ranks Puyallup Online Academy/POA 290^th of 437 Washington public high schools. (See Puyallup Online Academy/POA in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Puyallup School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Puyallup School District 88^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Puyallup Online Academy/POA

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	83.65	170^th	1107	84.6%

See the entire list of Washington Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school White students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	94.42	29^th	943	96.9%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Puyallup Online Academy/POA

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Rank History for all middle school students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2011	12.06	461^st	492	6.3%
2012	7.11	473^rd	497	4.8%
2013	6.21	480^th	498	3.6%
2018	10.32	404^th	437	7.6%
2019	69.54	132^nd	512	74.2%
2021	69.44	139^th	529	73.7%
2022	41.71	291^st	541	46.2%
2023	32.11	358^th	539	33.6%
2024	38.67	313^th	535	41.5%

See the entire list of Washington Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	12.72	327^th	349	6.3%
2021	85.05	28^th	458	93.9%
2022	52.21	181^st	475	61.9%
2023	57.21	166^th	463	64.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	9.00	354^th	376	5.9%
2021	70.91	115^th	469	75.5%
2022	42.41	264^th	479	44.9%
2023	24.00	363^rd	464	21.8%
2024	45.97	237^th	464	48.9%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	8.19	357^th	371	3.8%
2021	60.37	167^th	476	64.9%
2022	32.32	329^th	480	31.5%
2023	41.25	260^th	470	44.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school Hispanic students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	81.81	37^th	360	89.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for middle school White students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2021	85.31	55^th	480	88.5%
2023	27.72	358^th	488	26.6%
2024	46.40	260^th	486	46.5%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Puyallup Online Academy/POA

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Rank History for all high school students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile
2011	11.45	380^th	440	13.6%
2012	6.15	418^th	450	7.1%
2013	23.52	368^th	454	18.9%
2015	47.53	165^th	341	51.6%
2016	26.58	253^rd	306	17.3%
2017	16.52	263^rd	301	12.6%
2018	10.77	294^th	315	6.7%
2019	48.82	222^nd	417	46.8%
2021	44.36	242^nd	455	46.8%
2022	24.77	332^nd	434	23.5%
2023	43.00	255^th	442	42.3%
2024	35.44	290^th	437	33.6%

See the entire list of Washington Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for high school Multi-racial students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	11.76	168^th	179	6.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for high school Special Education students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	61.04	46^th	212	78.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for high school Low Socio Economic Status students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	2.58	227^th	227	0.0%
2021	59.44	118^th	392	69.9%
2022	49.04	178^th	370	51.9%
2023	87.41	23^rd	362	93.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for high school Female students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	9.41	232^nd	243	4.5%
2021	39.17	237^th	390	39.2%
2022	25.62	285^th	368	22.6%
2023	51.86	164^th	357	54.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for high school Male students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	7.03	250^th	254	1.6%
2019	57.67	144^th	355	59.4%
2021	56.33	147^th	395	62.8%
2022	42.36	212^th	363	41.6%
2023	46.69	191^st	358	46.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for high school Hispanic students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	52.34	123^rd	278	55.8%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for high school White students at Puyallup Online Academy/POA

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	2.90	218^th	222	1.8%
2019	41.91	236^th	382	38.2%
2021	56.58	154^th	413	62.7%
2022	29.46	300^th	390	23.1%
2023	37.05	251^st	379	33.8%

See the entire list of Best Washington Alternative Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, 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: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Puyallup Online Academy/POA

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2010	0	0	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	0
2011	54	4	1	3	3	2	3	0	70
2012	88	3	2	9	2	2	15	0	121
2013	53	3	1	14	1	0	5	0	77
2014	54	1	0	11	0	0	13	0	79
2015	36	0	0	4	2	0	7	0	49
2016	66	1	0	14	3	0	7	0	91
2017	68	0	1	20	3	1	11	0	104
2018	81	3	6	21	1	2	13	0	127
2019	90	7	2	18	0	1	7	0	125
2020	117	10	8	42	0	1	19	0	197
2021	120	5	6	55	1	2	25	0	214
2022	179	18	19	77	10	5	46	0	354
2023	155	21	17	60	9	10	47	3	322

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 Puyallup Online Academy/POA

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2010	0	0.0	0.0	n/a
2011	70	n/a	n/a	15.7
2012	121	n/a	n/a	33.9
2013	77	1.6	48.1	33.8
2014	79	n/a	n/a	29.1
2015	49	2.0	24.5	32.7
2016	91	3.0	30.3	24.2
2017	104	3.0	34.6	29.8
2018	127	3.8	33.0	37.8
2019	125	4.6	26.9	44
2020	197	3.1	62.9	38.1
2021	214	5.3	40.0	45.8
2022	354	10.6	33.3	55.1
2023	322	11.1	28.8	57.8

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 Puyallup Online Academy/POA

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2010	0	0.0	0.0	n/a
2011	70	n/a	n/a	15.7
2012	121	n/a	n/a	33.9
2013	77	1.6	48.1	33.8
2014	79	n/a	n/a	29.1
2015	49	2.0	24.5	32.7
2016	91	3.0	30.3	24.2
2017	104	3.0	34.6	29.8
2018	127	3.8	33.0	37.8
2019	125	4.6	26.9	44
2020	197	3.1	62.9	38.1
2021	214	5.3	40.0	45.8
2022	354	10.6	33.3	55.1
2023	322	11.1	28.8	57.8

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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