Is Arlington Elementary School a good school?

Arlington Elementary School ranks in the bottom 6.5% of Washington elementary schools.

How many students attend Arlington Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 374 students attended Arlington Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Arlington Elementary School?

Students at Arlington Elementary School are 25% White, 23% Hispanic, 22% African American, 14% Two or more races, 8% Asian, 5% Pacific Islander, 2% American Indian.

What schools do graduates of Arlington Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Arlington Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Gray Middle School High : Mount Tahoma High School

Arlington Elementary School

Summary:

Arlington Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 397 students in grades PK-5 in the Tacoma School District in Tacoma, Washington. Despite its diverse student population, the school consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of Washington elementary schools and struggles with low academic performance across all grade levels and subject areas.

Arlington Elementary's proficiency rates on state assessments are significantly below the Tacoma School District and Washington state averages. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 28.02% of Arlington students were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 45.84% in the district and 52.63% statewide. In math, the proficiency rate was just 19.89%, compared to 31.55% in the district and 41.68% statewide. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as African American and White students, raising concerns about equity.

When compared to other elementary schools in the area, such as Fern Hill Elementary, Mann Elementary, and Larchmont Elementary, Arlington Elementary's performance is consistently among the lowest. The school's high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 47.42% to 72.06%, may be a contributing factor to its academic challenges, as research has shown a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and educational outcomes.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

7202 South Pine Street
Tacoma, WA 98409

(253) 571-3200

District: Tacoma School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1092^nd of 1,168 Washington Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $18,663

Students who attend Arlington Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Gray Middle School
High:	Mount Tahoma High School

Student/teacher ratio: 16.5

Number of students: 374

Racial breakdown:

White:

25.1%

Hispanic:

23.3%

African American:

22.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 78.3%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Arlington Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Arlington Elementary School ranks worse than 93.5% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks 34^th among 35 ranked elementary schools in the Tacoma School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.39. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Arlington Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (25.1%), Hispanic (23.3%), African American (22.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 78.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Arlington Elementary School is 16.5. 19 elementary schools in the Tacoma School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Arlington Elementary School employs 22.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Arlington Elementary School is $18,663. 29 elementary schools in the Tacoma School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Arlington Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Arlington Elementary School 1092^nd of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Arlington Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Tacoma School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Tacoma School District 152^nd of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Arlington Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	10.35	963^rd	1026	6.1%
2005	44.25	611^th	1031	40.7%
2006	25.59	850^th	1051	19.1%
2007	24.47	875^th	1069	18.1%
2008	25.61	873^rd	1067	18.2%
2009	12.05	999^th	1072	6.8%
2010	11.44	1024^th	1088	5.9%
2011	6.65	1063^rd	1092	2.7%
2012	4.61	1085^th	1097	1.1%
2013	2.44	1099^th	1106	0.6%
2015	17.60	927^th	1067	13.1%
2016	17.38	909^th	1053	13.7%
2017	10.49	988^th	1056	6.4%
2018	13.33	956^th	1054	9.3%
2019	7.11	1088^th	1130	3.7%
2021	10.86	1025^th	1107	7.4%
2022	9.80	1104^th	1169	5.6%
2023	10.11	1103^rd	1169	5.6%
2024	10.39	1092^nd	1168	6.5%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2021	10.18	122^nd	128	4.7%
2022	15.51	228^th	252	9.5%
2023	10.81	190^th	194	2.1%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	30.14	270^th	333	18.9%
2019	30.19	192^nd	248	22.6%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2019	14.50	921^st	979	5.9%
2021	23.92	702^nd	854	17.8%
2022	15.57	954^th	1019	6.4%
2023	13.98	951^st	1013	6.1%
2024	17.39	930^th	1024	9.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	11.82	935^th	1004	6.9%
2019	6.51	1042^nd	1068	2.4%
2021	11.63	953^rd	1008	5.5%
2022	8.16	1068^th	1100	2.9%
2023	6.69	1070^th	1094	2.2%
2024	9.16	1045^th	1093	4.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	18.56	859^th	999	14.0%
2019	9.09	1022^nd	1075	4.9%
2021	13.15	935^th	1025	8.8%
2022	12.47	1021^st	1113	8.3%
2023	17.51	956^th	1099	13.0%
2024	12.27	1006^th	1099	8.5%

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

Rank History for African American students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	31.36	89^th	107	16.8%
2019	39.27	69^th	110	37.3%
2022	13.33	107^th	108	0.9%
2024	36.25	54^th	71	23.9%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	42.81	306^th	540	43.3%
2019	17.90	627^th	697	10.0%
2022	20.75	620^th	694	10.7%
2023	34.95	432^nd	633	31.8%
2024	30.91	465^th	651	28.6%

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

Rank History for White students at Arlington Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	5.07	819^th	833	1.7%
2019	3.23	1023^rd	1027	0.4%
2023	9.32	971^st	1011	4.0%
2024	10.38	966^th	1009	4.3%

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%

Reviews:

by a parent
Tuesday, August 30, 2011

I think Arlington is a great school. The teachers will take time with each student to make sure he/she understands the work before them. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Arlington Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	242	45	29	4	4	n/a	n/a	324
1989	219	39	32	5	4	n/a	n/a	299
1990	211	48	28	9	4	n/a	n/a	300
1991	238	43	26	8	3	n/a	n/a	318
1992	229	32	30	17	4	n/a	n/a	312
1993	229	47	46	22	8	n/a	n/a	352
1994	218	47	37	17	9	n/a	n/a	328
1995	163	50	35	21	9	n/a	n/a	278
1996	163	50	35	21	9	n/a	n/a	278
1997	170	46	48	17	5	n/a	n/a	286
1998	187	57	48	24	5	n/a	n/a	321
1999	230	63	37	31	4	n/a	n/a	365
2000	203	51	43	34	6	n/a	n/a	337
2001	196	67	38	37	9	n/a	n/a	347
2002	183	65	30	24	3	n/a	n/a	305
2003	183	65	30	24	3	n/a	n/a	305
2004	141	69	26	30	8	n/a	n/a	274
2005	125	73	25	29	4	n/a	n/a	256
2006	132	87	23	34	3	n/a	n/a	279
2007	110	58	19	27	1	n/a	n/a	215
2008	120	64	19	29	4	n/a	n/a	236
2009	147	90	21	31	6	n/a	n/a	295
2010	127	75	22	39	5	n/a	n/a	268
2011	129	46	21	40	2	7	34	279
2012	115	43	18	51	1	9	36	273
2013	109	72	15	64	1	19	7	287
2014	108	62	19	52	0	23	14	278
2015	89	65	15	56	1	19	22	267
2016	79	68	11	79	3	12	29	281
2017	83	48	11	71	5	21	33	272
2018	114	64	20	89	4	21	55	367
2019	136	62	32	113	3	19	77	442
2020	118	66	36	112	5	19	78	434
2021	106	58	32	99	2	20	66	383
2022	100	72	40	92	4	19	61	388
2023	112	74	36	100	6	17	52	397
2024	94	83	31	87	8	17	54	374

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 Arlington Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	324	19.0	17.0	0
1989	299	16.0	18.6	n/a
1990	300	17.5	17.1	0
1991	318	17.3	18.3	n/a
1992	312	18.8	16.5	n/a
1993	352	20.2	17.4	n/a
1994	328	19.6	16.7	n/a
1995	278	18.4	15.1	n/a
1996	278	18.4	15.1	n/a
1997	286	16.1	17.8	n/a
1998	321	16.8	19.1	n/a
1999	365	16.7	21.9	n/a
2000	337	17.7	19.0	n/a
2001	347	20.8	16.7	n/a
2002	305	18.1	16.9	75.7
2003	305	18.1	16.9	75.7
2004	274	16.0	17.1	66.4
2005	256	15.6	16.4	54.3
2006	279	14.4	19.4	67.4
2007	215	12.8	16.8	77.7
2008	236	13.3	17.7	80.5
2009	295	13.3	22.2	83.1
2010	268	18.1	14.8	98.9
2011	279	17.3	16.1	70.3
2012	273	19.3	14.0	58.6
2013	287	18.4	15.5	81.9
2014	278	n/a	n/a	86
2015	267	21.0	12.7	85.4
2016	281	21.0	13.3	82.6
2017	272	19.7	13.8	76.5
2018	367	22.5	16.2	73.8
2019	442	23.7	18.5	67.6
2020	434	26.8	16.1	69.6
2021	383	25.8	14.7	72.1
2022	388	22.4	17.3	47.4
2023	397	25.2	15.6	71.8
2024	374	22.6	16.5	78.3

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 Arlington Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	324	19.0	17.0	0
1989	299	16.0	18.6	n/a
1990	300	17.5	17.1	0
1991	318	17.3	18.3	n/a
1992	312	18.8	16.5	n/a
1993	352	20.2	17.4	n/a
1994	328	19.6	16.7	n/a
1995	278	18.4	15.1	n/a
1996	278	18.4	15.1	n/a
1997	286	16.1	17.8	n/a
1998	321	16.8	19.1	n/a
1999	365	16.7	21.9	n/a
2000	337	17.7	19.0	n/a
2001	347	20.8	16.7	n/a
2002	305	18.1	16.9	75.7
2003	305	18.1	16.9	75.7
2004	274	16.0	17.1	66.4
2005	256	15.6	16.4	54.3
2006	279	14.4	19.4	67.4
2007	215	12.8	16.8	77.7
2008	236	13.3	17.7	80.5
2009	295	13.3	22.2	83.1
2010	268	18.1	14.8	98.9
2011	279	17.3	16.1	70.3
2012	273	19.3	14.0	58.6
2013	287	18.4	15.5	81.9
2014	278	n/a	n/a	86
2015	267	21.0	12.7	85.4
2016	281	21.0	13.3	82.6
2017	272	19.7	13.8	76.5
2018	367	22.5	16.2	73.8
2019	442	23.7	18.5	67.6
2020	434	26.8	16.1	69.6
2021	383	25.8	14.7	72.1
2022	388	22.4	17.3	47.4
2023	397	25.2	15.6	71.8
2024	374	22.6	16.5	78.3

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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