Is Gray Middle School a good school?

Gray Middle School ranks in the bottom 4.7% of Washington middle schools.

How many students attend Gray Middle School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 521 students attended Gray Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Gray Middle School?

Students at Gray Middle School are 27% Hispanic, 20% White, 19% African American, 17% Two or more races, 10% Asian, 5% Pacific Islander, 2% American Indian.

What high school do graduates of Gray Middle School attend?

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

Gray Middle School

Summary:

Gray Middle School is a public middle school in Tacoma, Washington, serving 521 students in grades 6-8. The school faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance, a diverse student population with a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, and a ranking in the bottom half of Washington middle schools.

Academically, Gray Middle School lags behind the Tacoma School District and the state of Washington, with only 24.39% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 45.84% for the district and 52.63% for the state. The school's racial diversity is more pronounced than nearby schools, with a student population that is 20.15% White, 19.19% African American, 27.26% Hispanic, and 16.51% two or more races. Additionally, 77.93% of Gray Middle School students receive free or reduced-price lunch, significantly higher than the surrounding area.

In comparison, nearby schools like Hunt Middle School, Bryant Montessori Middle School, and Narrows View Intermediate generally perform better academically, with higher test scores and better school rankings. While Gray Middle School has a higher per-student spending compared to nearby schools, this higher funding does not seem to translate into improved academic outcomes, suggesting the need for a more targeted and effective approach to supporting student learning.

Detail:

Public 6-8

6229 S Tyler St
Tacoma, WA 98409

(253) 571-5200

District: Tacoma School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
510^th of 535 Washington Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $18,689

Students who attend Gray Middle School usually attend:

High:

Mount Tahoma High School

Feeder schools for Gray Middle School:

Elementary:	Arlington Elementary School
	Edison Elementary School
	Manitou Park Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 18.5

Number of students: 521

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

27.3%

White:

20.2%

African American:

19.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 77.9%

See top rated Washington middle schools

Compare Gray Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Gray Middle School ranks worse than 95.3% of middle schools in Washington. It also ranks last among 13 ranked middle schools in the Tacoma School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 8.59. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Gray Middle School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (27.3%), White (20.2%), African American (19.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 77.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Gray Middle School is 18.5. 8 middle schools in the Tacoma School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Gray Middle School employs 28 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Gray Middle School is $18,689, which is the 5^th highest among 13 middle schools in the Tacoma School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Gray Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Gray Middle School 510^th of 535 Washington public middle schools. (See Gray Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian 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.)

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Rank History for Gray Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	15.52	380^th	421	9.7%
2005	7.62	407^th	425	4.2%
2006	10.55	421^st	449	6.2%
2007	12.40	432^nd	463	6.7%
2008	21.08	397^th	466	14.8%
2009	16.96	417^th	476	12.4%
2010	11.95	441^st	483	8.7%
2011	13.32	456^th	492	7.3%
2012	15.45	450^th	497	9.5%
2013	13.13	456^th	498	8.4%
2015	20.72	365^th	445	18.0%
2016	12.11	403^rd	443	9.0%
2017	10.55	401^st	435	7.8%
2018	11.55	396^th	437	9.4%
2019	8.28	482^nd	512	5.9%
2021	16.80	454^th	529	14.2%
2022	13.69	488^th	541	9.8%
2023	12.45	488^th	539	9.5%
2024	8.59	510^th	535	4.7%

See the entire list of Washington Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2019	10.66	237^th	246	3.7%
2021	16.45	225^th	250	10.0%
2022	12.19	242^nd	257	5.8%
2023	12.97	224^th	244	8.2%
2024	6.75	237^th	243	2.5%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	23.24	128^th	135	5.2%
2021	49.69	26^th	50	48.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	14.97	262^nd	268	2.2%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	14.80	319^th	349	8.6%
2019	14.23	416^th	448	7.1%
2021	27.45	355^th	458	22.5%
2022	23.40	403^rd	475	15.2%
2023	22.57	379^th	463	18.1%
2024	12.60	428^th	455	5.9%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	58.83	8^th	27	70.4%
2022	25.58	27^th	33	18.2%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	10.82	345^th	376	8.2%
2019	9.22	426^th	452	5.8%
2021	16.87	403^rd	469	14.1%
2022	16.53	414^th	479	13.6%
2023	9.89	433^rd	464	6.7%
2024	6.68	450^th	464	3.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	9.39	351^st	371	5.4%
2019	7.76	434^th	453	4.2%
2021	18.70	398^th	476	16.4%
2022	11.99	440^th	480	8.3%
2023	14.10	422^nd	470	10.2%
2024	10.36	435^th	466	6.7%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	31.10	93^rd	123	24.4%
2019	35.81	105^th	152	30.9%
2021	24.75	112^th	149	24.8%
2022	21.36	130^th	161	19.3%
2023	15.49	127^th	145	12.4%
2024	14.45	132^nd	148	10.8%

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

Rank History for African American students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	22.77	57^th	66	13.6%
2019	14.69	105^th	111	5.4%
2021	20.74	95^th	106	10.4%
2022	23.74	89^th	104	14.4%
2023	18.21	80^th	96	16.7%
2024	6.71	89^th	90	1.1%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	8.97	254^th	259	1.9%
2019	17.29	304^th	344	11.6%
2021	44.54	177^th	353	49.9%
2022	32.17	241^st	360	33.1%
2023	19.40	285^th	336	15.2%
2024	17.37	306^th	344	11.0%

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

Rank History for Pacific Islander students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	27.67	27^th	31	12.9%
2021	41.49	13^th	19	31.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Pacific Islander Students!

Rank History for White students at Gray Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	6.01	313^th	325	3.7%
2019	5.85	456^th	470	3.0%
2021	23.89	377^th	480	21.5%
2022	12.08	454^th	488	7.0%
2023	14.52	442^nd	488	9.4%
2024	12.97	448^th	486	7.8%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle 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 Gray Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	407	77	69	16	13	n/a	n/a	0	582
1989	420	90	59	20	12	n/a	n/a	0	601
1990	455	116	46	22	17	n/a	n/a	0	656
1991	450	132	64	26	11	n/a	n/a	0	683
1992	478	153	74	40	9	n/a	n/a	0	754
1993	455	171	90	43	11	n/a	n/a	0	770
1994	416	159	119	51	14	n/a	n/a	0	759
1995	435	183	118	61	20	n/a	n/a	0	817
1996	435	183	118	61	20	n/a	n/a	0	817
1997	410	154	119	66	17	n/a	n/a	0	766
1998	413	173	126	67	28	n/a	n/a	0	807
1999	427	174	120	69	19	n/a	n/a	0	809
2000	442	172	98	77	17	n/a	n/a	0	806
2001	424	200	106	71	13	n/a	n/a	0	814
2002	398	208	93	84	18	n/a	n/a	0	801
2003	398	208	93	84	18	n/a	n/a	0	801
2004	328	186	97	74	15	n/a	n/a	0	700
2005	306	173	87	69	15	n/a	n/a	0	650
2006	301	196	76	75	15	n/a	n/a	0	663
2007	277	169	73	82	14	n/a	n/a	0	615
2008	263	181	70	74	14	n/a	n/a	0	602
2009	225	185	63	90	13	n/a	n/a	0	576
2010	243	211	66	106	19	n/a	n/a	0	645
2011	221	176	48	104	9	10	64	0	632
2012	220	159	50	112	6	22	80	0	649
2013	215	198	56	122	10	23	5	0	629
2014	207	171	65	116	10	29	9	0	607
2015	201	149	71	137	5	32	22	0	617
2016	167	155	68	138	5	36	36	0	605
2017	150	140	58	137	2	31	35	0	553
2018	153	114	57	130	1	30	41	0	526
2019	134	119	41	148	1	29	60	0	532
2020	129	99	47	185	4	18	77	0	559
2021	126	87	38	170	4	27	95	2	549
2022	120	85	47	157	7	33	91	1	541
2023	105	100	54	142	8	24	86	2	521

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 Gray Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	582	28.0	20.7	0
1989	601	30.0	20.0	n/a
1990	656	31.9	20.5	0
1991	683	38.0	17.9	n/a
1992	754	36.0	20.9	n/a
1993	770	40.5	19.0	n/a
1994	759	41.0	18.5	n/a
1995	817	45.4	18.0	n/a
1996	817	45.4	18.0	n/a
1997	766	43.0	17.8	n/a
1998	807	42.2	19.1	n/a
1999	809	41.7	19.4	n/a
2000	806	42.0	19.2	n/a
2001	814	47.7	17.1	n/a
2002	801	45.7	17.5	73.7
2003	801	45.7	17.5	73.7
2004	700	39.0	17.9	66.4
2005	650	39.3	16.5	68.2
2006	663	37.0	17.9	68.3
2007	615	36.9	16.7	68.6
2008	602	39.9	15.1	69.9
2009	576	39.9	14.4	70
2010	645	34.6	18.6	75.8
2011	632	36.6	17.2	70.7
2012	649	37.0	17.5	55.6
2013	629	32.6	19.2	81.6
2014	607	n/a	n/a	80.6
2015	617	31.0	19.9	79.9
2016	605	32.0	18.9	78.3
2017	553	30.6	18.0	78.1
2018	526	28.3	18.5	76.8
2019	532	31.4	16.9	79.1
2020	559	26.4	21.1	79.6
2021	549	29.6	18.5	79.1
2022	541	29.9	18.0	63.4
2023	521	28.0	18.5	77.9

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 Gray Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	582	28.0	20.7	0
1989	601	30.0	20.0	n/a
1990	656	31.9	20.5	0
1991	683	38.0	17.9	n/a
1992	754	36.0	20.9	n/a
1993	770	40.5	19.0	n/a
1994	759	41.0	18.5	n/a
1995	817	45.4	18.0	n/a
1996	817	45.4	18.0	n/a
1997	766	43.0	17.8	n/a
1998	807	42.2	19.1	n/a
1999	809	41.7	19.4	n/a
2000	806	42.0	19.2	n/a
2001	814	47.7	17.1	n/a
2002	801	45.7	17.5	73.7
2003	801	45.7	17.5	73.7
2004	700	39.0	17.9	66.4
2005	650	39.3	16.5	68.2
2006	663	37.0	17.9	68.3
2007	615	36.9	16.7	68.6
2008	602	39.9	15.1	69.9
2009	576	39.9	14.4	70
2010	645	34.6	18.6	75.8
2011	632	36.6	17.2	70.7
2012	649	37.0	17.5	55.6
2013	629	32.6	19.2	81.6
2014	607	n/a	n/a	80.6
2015	617	31.0	19.9	79.9
2016	605	32.0	18.9	78.3
2017	553	30.6	18.0	78.1
2018	526	28.3	18.5	76.8
2019	532	31.4	16.9	79.1
2020	559	26.4	21.1	79.6
2021	549	29.6	18.5	79.1
2022	541	29.9	18.0	63.4
2023	521	28.0	18.5	77.9

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.

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