Is Jefferson Elementary a good school?

Jefferson Elementary ranks 586 th of 1168 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Jefferson Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 414 students attended Jefferson Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Jefferson Elementary?

Students at Jefferson Elementary are 60% White, 26% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 3% African American, 2% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Jefferson Elementary attend?

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Chief Joseph Middle School

Jefferson Elementary

Summary:

Jefferson Elementary is a public elementary school in Richland, Washington, serving 414 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Richland School District, which is ranked 67 out of 247 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating.

While Jefferson Elementary has a more diverse student population compared to nearby schools, with higher percentages of Hispanic and African American students, it has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Washington elementary schools, with a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's academic performance, as measured by standardized test scores, is generally lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 50.78% of Jefferson Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 59.38% for the Richland School District and 52.63% for the state. Additionally, Jefferson Elementary has a significantly higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (66.91%) compared to nearby schools, which range from 26.55% to 39.19%.

In contrast, nearby schools like White Bluffs Elementary and Badger Mountain Elementary have ranked much higher, with 4-star and 3-star ratings, respectively. This suggests that the factors contributing to Jefferson Elementary's lower performance may be specific to the school or its student population, despite the higher per-student spending at the school compared to nearby schools. Addressing these challenges will require a comprehensive approach that considers the unique needs of the school and its community.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

1550 George Washington Way
Richland, WA 99352

(509) 967-6250

District: Richland School District

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,665

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:

Chief Joseph Middle School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.9

Number of students: 414

Racial breakdown:

White:

60.4%

Hispanic:

26.1%

Two or more races:

8.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 66.9%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Jefferson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Jefferson Elementary ranks worse than 50.2% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks 8^th among 10 ranked elementary schools in the Richland School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 48.24. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (60.4%), Hispanic (26.1%), two or more races (8.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 66.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Jefferson Elementary is 14.9, which is the lowest among 11 elementary schools in the Richland School District! (See more...)

Compare Jefferson Elementary employs 27.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Jefferson Elementary is $20,665, which is the highest among 11 elementary schools in the Richland School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Jefferson Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Jefferson Elementary 586^th of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Jefferson Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Richland School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Richland School District 67^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Jefferson Elementary.

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Rank History for Jefferson Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	58.70	407^th	1026	60.3%
2005	47.66	564^th	1031	45.3%
2006	49.81	547^th	1051	48.0%
2007	44.74	625^th	1069	41.5%
2008	59.71	442^nd	1067	58.6%
2009	48.37	587^th	1072	45.2%
2010	25.43	881^st	1088	19.0%
2011	41.75	664^th	1092	39.2%
2012	32.06	821^st	1097	25.2%
2013	29.25	853^rd	1106	22.9%
2015	39.34	672^nd	1067	37.0%
2016	31.03	752^nd	1053	28.6%
2017	36.60	691^st	1056	34.6%
2018	28.08	786^th	1054	25.4%
2019	48.37	602^nd	1130	46.7%
2021	38.27	647^th	1107	41.6%
2022	38.87	699^th	1169	40.2%
2023	38.66	708^th	1169	39.4%
2024	48.24	586^th	1168	49.8%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	37.06	402^nd	637	36.9%
2019	59.62	164^th	566	71.0%
2022	11.33	478^th	478	0.0%
2024	16.29	314^th	339	7.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	28.91	658^th	835	21.2%
2019	75.22	141^st	979	85.6%
2021	45.49	429^th	854	49.8%
2022	42.33	591^st	1019	42.0%
2023	42.73	595^th	1013	41.3%
2024	43.43	608^th	1024	40.6%

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

Rank History for Female students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	22.07	820^th	1004	18.3%
2019	46.93	602^nd	1068	43.6%
2021	36.42	616^th	1008	38.9%
2022	41.68	625^th	1100	43.2%
2023	29.28	798^th	1094	27.1%
2024	45.89	569^th	1093	47.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	26.52	764^th	999	23.5%
2019	50.05	538^th	1075	50.0%
2021	38.18	601^st	1025	41.4%
2022	35.71	702^nd	1113	36.9%
2023	47.43	540^th	1099	50.9%
2024	49.94	530^th	1099	51.8%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2019	34.54	485^th	697	30.4%
2021	27.60	381^st	501	24.0%
2022	36.44	436^th	694	37.2%
2023	39.61	391^st	633	38.2%
2024	44.03	375^th	651	42.4%

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

Rank History for White students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	24.84	676^th	833	18.8%
2019	54.20	484^th	1027	52.9%
2021	41.64	549^th	943	41.8%
2022	36.20	683^rd	1031	33.8%
2023	36.55	666^th	1011	34.1%
2024	49.03	512^th	1009	49.3%

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: 5)

100%

by a parent
Saturday, February 16, 2019

Jefferson is a school with an incredibly strong teaching staff and very supportive PTA. If you want a school where your child will be treated as an individual, differentiated for based on their unique needs regardless of HiCap scores, and where every staff member knows them by name, then you will love Jefferson. It is a school with a truly diverse student body: income diversity, racial diversity, religious diversity, and diversity of ability. Don't let the test scores fool you Jefferson is a great school. Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, January 13, 2017

Jefferson Elementary School is an awesome school. The teachers and staff work so hard to be upstanding, knowledgeable, caring people that have the best interest of the students at heart. Their ongoing hard work and professional development shows through the unique strategies that the student learn! I would recommend Jefferson Elementary to any incoming new family! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Jefferson Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	418	18	47	22	7	n/a	n/a	0	512
1989	411	16	41	19	4	n/a	n/a	0	491
1990	459	21	39	20	2	n/a	n/a	0	541
1991	520	22	51	31	0	n/a	n/a	0	624
1992	484	15	66	34	0	n/a	n/a	0	599
1993	488	14	43	39	0	n/a	n/a	0	584
1994	505	13	37	39	1	n/a	n/a	0	595
1995	400	14	37	36	1	n/a	n/a	0	488
1996	400	14	37	36	1	n/a	n/a	0	488
1997	395	15	38	37	2	n/a	n/a	0	487
1998	391	16	21	35	1	n/a	n/a	0	464
1999	349	21	40	36	0	n/a	n/a	0	446
2000	337	19	34	26	4	n/a	n/a	0	420
2001	297	25	41	31	0	n/a	n/a	0	394
2002	330	10	18	24	2	n/a	n/a	0	384
2003	330	10	18	24	2	n/a	n/a	0	384
2004	326	23	18	34	5	n/a	n/a	0	406
2005	308	21	17	41	5	n/a	n/a	0	392
2006	326	16	22	55	10	n/a	n/a	0	429
2007	328	13	21	47	10	n/a	n/a	0	419
2008	304	14	12	46	9	n/a	n/a	11	396
2009	298	15	16	57	3	n/a	n/a	21	410
2010	301	14	16	68	2	n/a	n/a	24	425
2011	317	15	11	90	1	3	0	0	437
2012	329	13	8	105	2	0	2	0	459
2013	270	18	6	124	3	0	11	0	432
2014	254	26	6	109	2	0	10	0	407
2015	246	20	5	124	2	7	11	0	415
2016	268	27	7	126	3	7	13	0	451
2017	295	33	9	117	1	7	18	0	480
2018	290	29	15	124	0	6	22	0	486
2019	272	21	10	106	1	3	19	0	432
2020	292	20	12	128	1	2	19	0	474
2021	250	18	9	124	1	1	27	0	430
2022	238	16	7	107	4	1	31	0	404
2023	250	11	9	108	2	0	34	0	414

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 Jefferson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	512	21.0	24.3	0
1989	491	21.0	23.3	n/a
1990	541	23.0	23.5	0
1991	624	27.7	22.5	n/a
1992	599	30.2	19.8	n/a
1993	584	30.1	19.4	n/a
1994	595	30.4	19.6	n/a
1995	488	24.9	19.6	n/a
1996	488	24.9	19.6	n/a
1997	487	24.9	19.6	n/a
1998	464	22.9	20.3	n/a
1999	446	23.8	18.7	n/a
2000	420	21.8	19.3	n/a
2001	394	22.8	17.3	n/a
2002	384	24.3	15.8	38.5
2003	384	24.3	15.8	38.5
2004	406	23.0	17.7	40.6
2005	392	22.8	17.2	51.8
2006	429	23.8	18.0	48.7
2007	419	23.4	17.9	50.1
2008	396	22.7	17.4	59
2009	410	22.7	18.1	61.7
2010	425	22.4	18.9	59.1
2011	437	22.1	19.7	55.8
2012	459	21.9	20.9	60.8
2013	432	19.8	21.7	60.2
2014	407	n/a	n/a	74.7
2015	415	25.0	16.6	68.4
2016	451	23.0	19.6	55.2
2017	480	28.0	17.1	62.1
2018	486	26.9	18.0	68.3
2019	432	28.9	14.9	88.7
2020	474	29.1	16.2	50.6
2021	430	29.5	14.5	7
2022	404	28.3	14.2	65.8
2023	414	27.6	14.9	66.9

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 Jefferson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	512	21.0	24.3	0
1989	491	21.0	23.3	n/a
1990	541	23.0	23.5	0
1991	624	27.7	22.5	n/a
1992	599	30.2	19.8	n/a
1993	584	30.1	19.4	n/a
1994	595	30.4	19.6	n/a
1995	488	24.9	19.6	n/a
1996	488	24.9	19.6	n/a
1997	487	24.9	19.6	n/a
1998	464	22.9	20.3	n/a
1999	446	23.8	18.7	n/a
2000	420	21.8	19.3	n/a
2001	394	22.8	17.3	n/a
2002	384	24.3	15.8	38.5
2003	384	24.3	15.8	38.5
2004	406	23.0	17.7	40.6
2005	392	22.8	17.2	51.8
2006	429	23.8	18.0	48.7
2007	419	23.4	17.9	50.1
2008	396	22.7	17.4	59
2009	410	22.7	18.1	61.7
2010	425	22.4	18.9	59.1
2011	437	22.1	19.7	55.8
2012	459	21.9	20.9	60.8
2013	432	19.8	21.7	60.2
2014	407	n/a	n/a	74.7
2015	415	25.0	16.6	68.4
2016	451	23.0	19.6	55.2
2017	480	28.0	17.1	62.1
2018	486	26.9	18.0	68.3
2019	432	28.9	14.9	88.7
2020	474	29.1	16.2	50.6
2021	430	29.5	14.5	7
2022	404	28.3	14.2	65.8
2023	414	27.6	14.9	66.9

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.

Kindergarten Immunization Rates