Is Birney Elementary School a good school?

Birney Elementary School ranks in the bottom 8.7% of Washington elementary schools.

How many students attend Birney Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 451 students attended Birney Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Birney Elementary School?

Students at Birney Elementary School are 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 17% Two or more races, 15% African American, 11% Asian, 9% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Birney Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Birney Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Baker Middle School High : Mount Tahoma High School

Birney Elementary School

Summary:

Birney Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Tacoma, Washington, serving grades PK-5 with a student population of 451. The school is part of the Tacoma School District, which is ranked 152 out of 247 districts in Washington and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Birney Elementary consistently underperforms compared to the Tacoma School District and the state of Washington in standardized test scores for English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 28.79% of Birney students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 45.84% for the district and 52.63% for the state. In Math, only 22.22% of Birney students were proficient, compared to 31.55% for the district and 41.68% for the state. The school also has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 71.62% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2022-2023 school year. However, Birney Elementary has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, with 14.9 students per teacher in the 2022-2023 school year, which is lower than the nearby schools like Mann Elementary School and Edison Elementary School.

Birney Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Washington elementary schools, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of the past decade. The school's performance data shows significant achievement gaps between different racial groups, with Hispanic and other minority students performing significantly worse than their White peers. Birney Elementary also struggles to support its English Language Learner (ELL) and Special Education student populations, with these subgroups ranking in the bottom quarter of Washington elementary schools. Despite the school's high percentage of low-income students, the per-student spending at Birney Elementary is relatively high, suggesting that the issue may not be solely a lack of funding, but rather how the resources are being allocated and utilized to support student learning.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

7627 South Sheridan Ave
Tacoma, WA 98408

(253) 571-4600

District: Tacoma School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1066^th of 1,168 Washington Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $22,054

Students who attend Birney Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Baker Middle School
High:	Mount Tahoma High School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.9

Number of students: 451

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

27.3%

White:

20.6%

Two or more races:

17.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 71.6%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Birney Elementary School ranks worse than 91.3% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks 33^rd among 35 ranked elementary schools in the Tacoma School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.05. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Birney Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (27.3%), White (20.6%), two or more races (17.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 71.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Birney Elementary School is 14.9, which is the 8^th best among 35 elementary schools in the Tacoma School District. (See more...)

Compare Birney Elementary School employs 30.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Birney Elementary School is $22,054, which is the 7^th highest among 35 elementary schools in the Tacoma School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Birney Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Birney Elementary School 1066^th of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Birney 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:

Tacoma School District:

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

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Rank History for Birney Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	37.99	665^th	1026	35.2%
2005	30.79	756^th	1031	26.7%
2006	33.01	762^nd	1051	27.5%
2007	42.00	656^th	1069	38.6%
2008	22.68	892^nd	1067	16.4%
2009	14.18	978^th	1072	8.8%
2010	24.42	896^th	1088	17.6%
2011	11.13	1030^th	1092	5.7%
2012	20.79	953^rd	1097	13.1%
2013	23.57	926^th	1106	16.3%
2015	16.63	939^th	1067	12.0%
2016	14.22	943^rd	1053	10.4%
2017	9.84	990^th	1056	6.3%
2018	12.95	965^th	1054	8.4%
2019	13.25	1018^th	1130	9.9%
2021	8.55	1065^th	1107	3.8%
2022	17.24	1008^th	1169	13.8%
2023	12.23	1073^rd	1169	8.2%
2024	13.05	1066^th	1168	8.7%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	25.94	186^th	213	12.7%
2024	38.82	185^th	320	42.2%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	23.33	526^th	637	17.4%
2022	34.75	316^th	478	33.9%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	18.60	765^th	835	8.4%
2019	18.39	888^th	979	9.3%
2022	26.30	832^nd	1019	18.4%
2023	22.40	875^th	1013	13.6%
2024	19.14	910^th	1024	11.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	19.81	844^th	1004	15.9%
2019	15.24	953^rd	1068	10.8%
2021	11.27	957^th	1008	5.1%
2022	20.17	921^st	1100	16.3%
2023	19.38	915^th	1094	16.4%
2024	18.90	927^th	1093	15.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	9.24	951^st	999	4.8%
2019	12.71	982^nd	1075	8.7%
2021	10.87	965^th	1025	5.9%
2022	17.29	967^th	1113	13.1%
2023	8.55	1065^th	1099	3.1%
2024	10.91	1031^st	1099	6.2%

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

Rank History for African American students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	23.09	101^st	107	5.6%
2019	13.21	108^th	110	1.8%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	21.08	482^nd	540	10.7%
2019	42.20	417^th	697	40.2%
2022	35.38	445^th	694	35.9%
2024	22.96	540^th	651	17.1%

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

Rank History for White students at Birney Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	21.73	703^rd	833	15.6%
2019	17.66	904^th	1027	12.0%
2021	19.11	807^th	943	14.4%
2022	28.94	789^th	1031	23.5%
2023	30.74	745^th	1011	26.3%
2024	12.67	949^th	1009	5.9%

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

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Enrollment information for Birney Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	332	56	48	7	10	n/a	n/a	453
1989	328	63	78	12	8	n/a	n/a	489
1990	299	74	66	9	16	n/a	n/a	464
1991	298	104	79	16	18	n/a	n/a	515
1992	272	77	97	14	14	n/a	n/a	474
1993	252	93	100	18	13	n/a	n/a	476
1994	272	69	85	12	9	n/a	n/a	447
1995	251	77	122	19	6	n/a	n/a	475
1996	251	77	122	19	6	n/a	n/a	475
1997	255	76	113	16	11	n/a	n/a	471
1998	249	88	95	18	6	n/a	n/a	456
1999	260	93	89	18	8	n/a	n/a	468
2000	253	92	82	26	10	n/a	n/a	463
2001	259	107	79	39	12	n/a	n/a	496
2002	239	149	92	53	17	n/a	n/a	550
2003	239	149	92	53	17	n/a	n/a	550
2004	221	153	89	46	11	n/a	n/a	520
2005	169	157	81	37	10	n/a	n/a	454
2006	170	129	89	65	9	n/a	n/a	462
2007	133	109	71	53	3	n/a	n/a	369
2008	131	99	70	59	3	n/a	n/a	362
2009	129	98	60	79	2	n/a	n/a	368
2010	142	86	54	61	6	n/a	n/a	349
2011	118	54	31	62	3	8	55	331
2012	110	57	25	73	4	9	51	329
2013	137	98	30	94	6	16	7	388
2014	110	109	25	112	5	14	18	393
2015	129	101	28	135	1	18	32	444
2016	126	85	28	129	4	15	37	424
2017	127	73	33	134	5	10	54	436
2018	114	72	38	130	5	15	59	433
2019	106	88	38	136	4	25	80	477
2020	106	70	45	110	1	25	76	433
2021	100	55	45	112	1	35	63	411
2022	110	60	43	110	1	36	62	422
2023	93	68	50	123	1	39	77	451

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 Birney Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	453	27.0	16.7	0
1989	489	27.0	18.1	n/a
1990	464	25.3	18.3	0
1991	515	28.6	18.0	n/a
1992	474	27.7	17.1	n/a
1993	476	26.0	18.3	n/a
1994	447	27.0	16.6	n/a
1995	475	25.4	18.7	n/a
1996	475	25.4	18.7	n/a
1997	471	26.0	18.1	n/a
1998	456	25.8	17.7	n/a
1999	468	25.4	18.4	n/a
2000	463	24.8	18.7	n/a
2001	496	27.0	18.4	n/a
2002	550	28.4	19.4	59.5
2003	550	28.4	19.4	59.5
2004	520	28.0	18.6	52.1
2005	454	27.9	16.3	45.8
2006	462	24.5	18.9	60.4
2007	369	22.1	16.7	69.9
2008	362	24.8	14.6	73.8
2009	368	24.8	14.8	78.8
2010	349	25.7	13.5	79.4
2011	331	24.3	13.6	61.3
2012	329	25.8	12.7	50.2
2013	388	25.0	15.5	74.7
2014	393	n/a	n/a	76.1
2015	444	33.0	13.4	80
2016	424	30.0	14.1	80.7
2017	436	29.5	14.7	77.3
2018	433	29.2	14.8	72.3
2019	477	32.5	14.6	62.9
2020	433	29.7	14.5	70.4
2021	411	29.6	13.8	68.9
2022	422	26.8	15.6	44.1
2023	451	30.2	14.9	71.6

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 Birney Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	453	27.0	16.7	0
1989	489	27.0	18.1	n/a
1990	464	25.3	18.3	0
1991	515	28.6	18.0	n/a
1992	474	27.7	17.1	n/a
1993	476	26.0	18.3	n/a
1994	447	27.0	16.6	n/a
1995	475	25.4	18.7	n/a
1996	475	25.4	18.7	n/a
1997	471	26.0	18.1	n/a
1998	456	25.8	17.7	n/a
1999	468	25.4	18.4	n/a
2000	463	24.8	18.7	n/a
2001	496	27.0	18.4	n/a
2002	550	28.4	19.4	59.5
2003	550	28.4	19.4	59.5
2004	520	28.0	18.6	52.1
2005	454	27.9	16.3	45.8
2006	462	24.5	18.9	60.4
2007	369	22.1	16.7	69.9
2008	362	24.8	14.6	73.8
2009	368	24.8	14.8	78.8
2010	349	25.7	13.5	79.4
2011	331	24.3	13.6	61.3
2012	329	25.8	12.7	50.2
2013	388	25.0	15.5	74.7
2014	393	n/a	n/a	76.1
2015	444	33.0	13.4	80
2016	424	30.0	14.1	80.7
2017	436	29.5	14.7	77.3
2018	433	29.2	14.8	72.3
2019	477	32.5	14.6	62.9
2020	433	29.7	14.5	70.4
2021	411	29.6	13.8	68.9
2022	422	26.8	15.6	44.1
2023	451	30.2	14.9	71.6

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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