Is Sierra Heights Elementary School a good school?

Sierra Heights Elementary School ranks in the bottom 23.3% of Washington elementary schools.

How many students attend Sierra Heights Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 434 students attended Sierra Heights Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Sierra Heights Elementary School?

Students at Sierra Heights Elementary School are 35% Hispanic, 23% White, 20% Asian, 13% Two or more races, 8% African American.

What schools do graduates of Sierra Heights Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Sierra Heights Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Vera Risdon Middle School High : Hazen Senior High School

Sierra Heights Elementary School

Summary:

Sierra Heights Elementary School is a public elementary school in Renton, Washington, serving 434 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Renton School District, which is ranked 139 out of 247 districts in the state.

Sierra Heights Elementary has a diverse student population, with a higher percentage of Hispanic (34.79%) and Asian (20.28%) students compared to the state average. However, the school's academic performance, as measured by test scores, is generally lower than the Renton School District and Washington state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 34.3% of all students at Sierra Heights were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 52.63% statewide. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Washington elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

When comparing Sierra Heights to other nearby elementary schools in the Renton School District, it becomes clear that the school is underperforming academically. For example, Maplewood Heights Elementary and Sartori Elementary, which are both within a few miles of Sierra Heights, have significantly higher test scores and overall school rankings. This disparity may be due in part to the higher percentage of students at Sierra Heights who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a higher proportion of students from low-income families.

Detail:

Public K-5

9901 132nd Ave SE
Renton, WA 98059-3505

(425) 204-4650

District: Renton School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
896^th of 1,168 Washington Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $19,766

Students who attend Sierra Heights Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Vera Risdon Middle School
High:	Hazen Senior High School

Student/teacher ratio: 15.6

Number of students: 434

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

34.8%

White:

22.8%

Asian:

20.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 47.2%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Sierra Heights Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Sierra Heights Elementary School ranks worse than 76.7% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks 10^th among 15 ranked elementary schools in the Renton School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 25.19. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Sierra Heights Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (34.8%), White (22.8%), Asian (20.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 47.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Sierra Heights Elementary School is 15.6, which is the 5^th best among 15 elementary schools in the Renton School District. (See more...)

Compare Sierra Heights Elementary School employs 27.8 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Sierra Heights Elementary School is $19,766. 8 elementary schools in the Renton School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Sierra Heights Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Sierra Heights Elementary School 896^th of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Sierra Heights Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Renton School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Renton School District 139^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Sierra Heights Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	66.33	297^th	1026	71.1%
2005	61.00	397^th	1031	61.5%
2006	51.29	530^th	1051	49.6%
2007	58.16	452^nd	1069	57.7%
2008	55.11	495^th	1067	53.6%
2009	51.93	524^th	1072	51.1%
2010	53.37	507^th	1088	53.4%
2011	63.39	392^nd	1092	64.1%
2012	58.63	456^th	1097	58.4%
2013	64.75	395^th	1106	64.3%
2015	38.63	680^th	1067	36.3%
2016	35.90	703^rd	1053	33.2%
2017	32.07	746^th	1056	29.4%
2018	25.28	816^th	1054	22.6%
2019	39.73	698^th	1130	38.2%
2021	41.23	609^th	1107	45.0%
2022	37.87	711^th	1169	39.2%
2023	34.27	775^th	1169	33.7%
2024	25.19	896^th	1168	23.3%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	75.08	56^th	303	81.5%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	56.71	85^th	333	74.5%
2019	40.78	133^rd	248	46.4%
2022	34.31	141^st	213	33.8%
2023	35.08	157^th	254	38.2%
2024	27.31	235^th	320	26.6%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	18.81	583^rd	637	8.5%
2022	30.79	349^th	478	27.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	21.53	733^rd	835	12.2%
2019	37.19	665^th	979	32.1%
2021	64.57	214^th	854	74.9%
2022	46.15	528^th	1019	48.2%
2023	28.66	790^th	1013	22.0%
2024	18.85	913^th	1024	10.8%

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

Rank History for Female students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	22.15	818^th	1004	18.5%
2019	51.56	542^nd	1068	49.3%
2021	28.58	720^th	1008	28.6%
2022	41.47	628^th	1100	42.9%
2023	45.88	572^nd	1094	47.7%
2024	29.29	789^th	1093	27.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	30.04	726^th	999	27.3%
2019	32.17	756^th	1075	29.7%
2021	49.13	474^th	1025	53.8%
2022	34.84	721^st	1113	35.2%
2023	24.33	862^nd	1099	21.6%
2024	19.67	937^th	1099	14.7%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	36.43	116^th	169	31.4%
2019	73.96	52^nd	201	74.1%
2021	43.45	78^th	131	40.5%
2022	38.95	125^th	187	33.2%
2023	31.87	118^th	170	30.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	10.81	526^th	540	2.6%
2019	14.88	655^th	697	6.0%
2021	41.71	257^th	501	48.7%
2022	38.93	413^th	694	40.5%
2023	21.27	548^th	633	13.4%
2024	24.05	532^nd	651	18.3%

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

Rank History for White students at Sierra Heights Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	26.69	655^th	833	21.4%
2019	41.64	657^th	1027	36.0%
2021	41.18	554^th	943	41.3%
2022	44.25	572^nd	1031	44.5%
2023	32.20	734^th	1011	27.4%
2024	59.02	398^th	1009	60.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary 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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3)

50%

Reviews:

by a parent
Friday, March 5, 2021

Very disappointed with Teacher/staff. Staff don't seem to understand the value of communication and more so accountability. It really feels like THEM vs US. There is no "TEAM." I haven't complained about a meal or a cup of coffee and I cannot express how much this pains me to even write this. They choose to raise their voices and literally bark their rules vs pulling a parent aside, introduce themselves so I at least know who's yelling at me and tell me the policy so we can make sure we follow it. That's 100 how it works here though. If I give my child a demand to come to me or I am walking to take his hand to escort him to our car I should NEVER have a Teacher or Assistant Principal physically hold their hand out to my child and say "no," while I say "Come" and we go back and fourth 3X. In addition, to ("yelling is a perception") talking terse and at a semi higher-volume to my child to do something against what I want when I am standing right in front on them, not even the respect to tell ME what needs to be done and not my child. Who barks demands at a child (6yr) to do something when the Staff sees me and what I am trying to accomplish which was taking my Childs hand and escorting to our car and not say it to the parent? I get safety concerns and policies, but trumping my right as a parent X2 now is beyond me, especially when we are new to the area and its our FIRST day of school. We will never back down from our perspective and what my CHILD (not me) deserves. If they are willing to talk to me this way and my child, how do they handle situations behind closed doors? Such a waste of my time and theirs. Happy to change my review and stance once we see a positive change regarding common respect and care. Close Quote

by a student
Monday, June 15, 2009

I have nothing bad to say about this school! Everything ranging from the staff to the
students of 2005-2006, it was wonderful there! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Sierra Heights Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	340	26	30	8	12	n/a	n/a	416
1989	358	33	36	8	11	n/a	n/a	446
1990	380	42	26	9	9	n/a	n/a	466
1991	386	36	37	11	14	n/a	n/a	484
1992	387	38	42	9	18	n/a	n/a	494
1993	423	38	54	16	10	n/a	n/a	541
1994	391	42	66	13	9	n/a	n/a	521
1995	382	33	88	35	11	n/a	n/a	549
1996	382	33	88	35	11	n/a	n/a	549
1997	383	52	89	33	10	n/a	n/a	567
1998	315	40	74	48	6	n/a	n/a	483
1999	316	33	66	30	2	n/a	n/a	447
2000	330	27	76	35	3	n/a	n/a	471
2001	332	34	79	46	3	n/a	n/a	494
2002	317	48	102	91	6	n/a	n/a	564
2003	317	48	102	91	6	n/a	n/a	564
2004	323	52	121	119	0	n/a	n/a	615
2005	288	50	118	123	5	n/a	n/a	584
2006	265	49	123	128	1	n/a	n/a	566
2007	268	52	136	149	2	n/a	n/a	607
2008	249	46	142	171	4	n/a	n/a	612
2009	237	60	142	174	1	n/a	n/a	614
2010	224	56	127	185	5	n/a	n/a	597
2011	179	50	135	226	2	4	12	608
2012	166	35	128	240	4	4	36	613
2013	187	38	150	146	1	6	44	572
2014	197	38	145	157	1	1	54	593
2015	216	35	154	183	1	2	73	664
2016	205	36	151	177	2	2	63	636
2017	199	29	151	162	1	2	72	616
2018	184	29	138	168	2	6	59	586
2019	154	36	129	159	2	5	58	543
2020	129	28	126	160	3	6	51	503
2021	111	28	116	142	3	4	54	458
2022	104	38	100	149	1	3	61	456
2023	99	34	88	151	2	2	58	434

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 Sierra Heights Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	416	16.0	26.0	0
1989	446	17.0	26.2	n/a
1990	466	18.2	25.6	0
1991	484	20.4	23.7	n/a
1992	494	20.8	23.7	n/a
1993	541	20.0	27.1	n/a
1994	521	22.0	23.7	n/a
1995	549	22.5	24.4	n/a
1996	549	22.5	24.4	n/a
1997	567	22.9	24.8	n/a
1998	483	19.5	24.8	n/a
1999	447	18.0	24.8	n/a
2000	471	21.6	21.8	n/a
2001	494	21.7	22.8	n/a
2002	564	25.1	22.5	28.2
2003	564	25.1	22.5	28.2
2004	615	27.0	22.8	36.6
2005	584	27.1	21.5	37.7
2006	566	27.6	20.5	33.9
2007	607	27.9	21.8	35.3
2008	612	28.4	21.5	38.2
2009	614	28.4	21.6	39.4
2010	597	28.5	20.9	45.7
2011	608	28.3	21.4	49.5
2012	613	28.9	21.2	48.9
2013	572	27.0	21.1	42.8
2014	593	n/a	n/a	45.5
2015	664	40.0	16.6	46.2
2016	636	38.0	16.7	42
2017	616	34.0	18.0	41.6
2018	586	32.6	17.9	44.5
2019	543	31.2	17.3	42.9
2020	503	33.5	15.0	44.3
2021	458	30.5	14.9	43
2022	456	30.0	15.1	45.4
2023	434	27.8	15.6	47.2

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 Sierra Heights Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	416	16.0	26.0	0
1989	446	17.0	26.2	n/a
1990	466	18.2	25.6	0
1991	484	20.4	23.7	n/a
1992	494	20.8	23.7	n/a
1993	541	20.0	27.1	n/a
1994	521	22.0	23.7	n/a
1995	549	22.5	24.4	n/a
1996	549	22.5	24.4	n/a
1997	567	22.9	24.8	n/a
1998	483	19.5	24.8	n/a
1999	447	18.0	24.8	n/a
2000	471	21.6	21.8	n/a
2001	494	21.7	22.8	n/a
2002	564	25.1	22.5	28.2
2003	564	25.1	22.5	28.2
2004	615	27.0	22.8	36.6
2005	584	27.1	21.5	37.7
2006	566	27.6	20.5	33.9
2007	607	27.9	21.8	35.3
2008	612	28.4	21.5	38.2
2009	614	28.4	21.6	39.4
2010	597	28.5	20.9	45.7
2011	608	28.3	21.4	49.5
2012	613	28.9	21.2	48.9
2013	572	27.0	21.1	42.8
2014	593	n/a	n/a	45.5
2015	664	40.0	16.6	46.2
2016	636	38.0	16.7	42
2017	616	34.0	18.0	41.6
2018	586	32.6	17.9	44.5
2019	543	31.2	17.3	42.9
2020	503	33.5	15.0	44.3
2021	458	30.5	14.9	43
2022	456	30.0	15.1	45.4
2023	434	27.8	15.6	47.2

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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