Is Truman Middle School a good school?

Truman Middle School ranks 291 st of 535 Washington middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Truman Middle School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 435 students attended Truman Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Truman Middle School?

Students at Truman Middle School are 49% White, 20% Two or more races, 16% Hispanic, 9% African American, 4% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Truman Middle School attend?

Students who attend Truman Middle School usually go on to attend Dr. Dolores Silas High School

Truman Middle School

Summary:

Truman Middle School is a public middle school in Tacoma, Washington, serving 435 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Tacoma School District, which is ranked 152 out of 247 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Truman Middle School has a more diverse student population compared to nearby schools, with over 50% non-white students and a significant proportion of students identifying as two or more races. Academically, the school's performance on SBAC and WCAS tests is generally lower than the Tacoma School District and Washington state averages across all grades and subjects. For example, in 2023-2024, Truman's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (46.98%) and Math (34.46%) were below the district (45.84% and 31.55%) and state (52.63% and 41.68%) averages. The school's statewide ranking has fluctuated, ranging from 233 out of 529 Washington middle schools in 2020-2021 to 291 out of 535 in 2023-2024, placing it in the bottom half of middle schools in the state.

When compared to other middle schools in the area, such as Mason Middle School, Truman Middle School generally underperforms academically. The school's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups, with Asian and White students generally outperforming their African American and Hispanic peers. These factors, along with the school's relatively high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, suggest that targeted interventions and support could help address the academic challenges faced by Truman Middle School.

Detail:

Public 6-8

5801 N 35th St
Tacoma, WA 98407

(253) 571-5600

District: Tacoma School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
291^st of 535 Washington Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,924

Students who attend Truman Middle School usually attend:

High:

Dr. Dolores Silas High School

Feeder schools for Truman Middle School:

Elementary:	Point Defiance Elementary School
	Skyline Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 18.4

Number of students: 435

Racial breakdown:

White:

48.5%

Two or more races:

19.8%

Hispanic:

16.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 46.2%

See top rated Washington middle schools

Compare Truman Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Truman Middle School ranks worse than 54.4% of middle schools in Washington. It also ranks 5^th among 13 ranked middle schools in the Tacoma School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 43.14. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Truman Middle School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (48.5%), two or more races (19.8%), Hispanic (16.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 46.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Truman Middle School is 18.4. 7 middle schools in the Tacoma School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Truman Middle School employs 23.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Truman Middle School is $17,924. 8 middle schools in the Tacoma School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Truman Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Truman Middle School 291^st of 535 Washington public middle schools. (See Truman 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:

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 Truman Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	66.17	135^th	421	67.9%
2005	53.47	201^st	425	52.7%
2006	45.67	246^th	449	45.2%
2007	44.82	272^nd	463	41.3%
2008	42.15	282^nd	466	39.5%
2009	43.76	272^nd	476	42.9%
2010	33.81	341^st	483	29.4%
2011	38.42	331^st	492	32.7%
2012	44.66	288^th	497	42.1%
2013	36.93	333^rd	498	33.1%
2015	47.67	227^th	445	49.0%
2016	40.66	262^nd	443	40.9%
2017	30.76	310^th	435	28.7%
2018	29.36	316^th	437	27.7%
2019	28.05	384^th	512	25.0%
2021	51.92	233^rd	529	56.0%
2022	45.82	260^th	541	51.9%
2023	42.20	288^th	539	46.6%
2024	43.14	291^st	535	45.6%

See the entire list of Washington Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	15.07	145^th	166	12.7%
2019	11.29	235^th	246	4.5%
2021	34.25	165^th	250	34.0%
2022	29.68	186^th	257	27.6%
2023	21.85	205^th	244	16.0%
2024	34.49	162^nd	243	33.3%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	42.40	63^rd	135	53.3%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	31.96	187^th	268	30.2%
2021	43.56	101^st	210	51.9%
2022	27.20	151^st	199	24.1%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	20.52	302^nd	349	13.5%
2019	21.18	382^nd	448	14.7%
2021	44.17	245^th	458	46.5%
2022	29.66	359^th	475	24.4%
2023	33.66	312^th	463	32.6%
2024	34.60	300^th	455	34.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	30.56	267^th	376	29.0%
2019	30.99	327^th	452	27.7%
2021	50.79	209^th	469	55.4%
2022	45.29	244^th	479	49.1%
2023	42.73	255^th	464	45.0%
2024	50.03	213^th	464	54.1%

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

Rank History for Male students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	24.87	286^th	371	22.9%
2019	25.60	346^th	453	23.6%
2021	52.55	195^th	476	59.0%
2022	44.80	241^st	480	49.8%
2023	37.45	292^nd	470	37.9%
2024	35.39	288^th	466	38.2%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	16.92	111^th	123	9.8%
2019	32.05	115^th	152	24.3%
2022	72.90	42^nd	161	73.9%

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

Rank History for African American students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	26.25	53^rd	66	19.7%
2019	24.88	94^th	111	15.3%
2021	69.26	19^th	106	82.1%
2022	37.70	62^nd	104	40.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	35.54	171^st	259	34.0%
2019	41.79	198^th	344	42.4%
2021	59.31	106^th	353	70.0%
2022	43.05	183^rd	360	49.2%
2023	53.63	130^th	336	61.3%
2024	40.70	184^th	344	46.5%

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

Rank History for White students at Truman Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	27.00	249^th	325	23.4%
2019	33.04	337^th	470	28.3%
2021	56.45	197^th	480	59.0%
2022	51.62	222^nd	488	54.5%
2023	47.01	236^th	488	51.6%
2024	42.69	283^rd	486	41.8%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Truman Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	588	62	36	12	1	n/a	n/a	0	699
1989	575	78	36	14	5	n/a	n/a	0	708
1990	551	84	25	19	10	n/a	n/a	0	689
1991	544	72	33	19	6	n/a	n/a	0	674
1992	573	75	34	17	7	n/a	n/a	0	706
1993	558	80	49	18	6	n/a	n/a	0	711
1994	544	89	50	17	6	n/a	n/a	0	706
1995	493	96	42	23	7	n/a	n/a	0	661
1996	493	96	42	23	7	n/a	n/a	0	661
1997	504	100	44	20	8	n/a	n/a	0	676
1998	529	89	43	24	7	n/a	n/a	0	692
1999	572	89	45	22	8	n/a	n/a	0	736
2000	555	104	44	25	8	n/a	n/a	0	736
2001	575	101	55	25	9	n/a	n/a	0	765
2002	586	107	57	31	5	n/a	n/a	0	786
2003	586	107	57	31	5	n/a	n/a	0	786
2004	550	122	46	38	5	n/a	n/a	0	761
2005	487	112	33	34	8	n/a	n/a	0	674
2006	470	101	37	44	8	n/a	n/a	0	660
2007	471	100	37	48	12	n/a	n/a	0	668
2008	452	122	36	36	12	n/a	n/a	0	658
2009	407	138	39	41	11	n/a	n/a	0	636
2010	361	142	55	40	8	n/a	n/a	0	606
2011	373	106	58	91	3	6	111	0	748
2012	420	119	56	94	5	2	98	0	794
2013	433	169	64	81	6	7	3	0	763
2014	446	141	70	66	8	11	6	0	748
2015	439	123	85	84	8	10	9	0	758
2016	453	130	76	102	8	12	19	0	800
2017	437	139	70	114	9	11	21	0	801
2018	389	125	64	112	8	12	54	0	764
2019	381	129	61	125	7	13	66	0	782
2020	346	107	53	117	6	6	111	1	747
2021	321	91	42	117	2	10	115	2	700
2022	262	46	26	86	4	6	91	6	527
2023	211	41	17	71	2	4	86	3	435

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 Truman Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	699	35.0	19.9	0
1989	708	35.0	20.2	n/a
1990	689	35.6	19.3	0
1991	674	35.9	18.7	n/a
1992	706	34.7	20.3	n/a
1993	711	38.3	18.6	n/a
1994	706	37.5	18.8	n/a
1995	661	35.2	18.8	n/a
1996	661	35.2	18.8	n/a
1997	676	35.6	19.0	n/a
1998	692	35.6	19.4	n/a
1999	736	39.2	18.8	n/a
2000	736	39.0	18.9	n/a
2001	765	40.4	18.9	n/a
2002	786	39.4	19.9	40.5
2003	786	39.4	19.9	40.5
2004	761	40.0	19.0	40.1
2005	674	40.2	16.8	41.1
2006	660	33.8	19.5	40.5
2007	668	34.6	19.3	36.8
2008	658	35.6	18.5	38.8
2009	636	35.6	17.9	42.3
2010	606	32.4	18.7	51
2011	748	40.8	18.3	50.7
2012	794	42.7	18.5	45.3
2013	763	39.7	19.2	62.9
2014	748	n/a	n/a	62
2015	758	38.0	19.9	57
2016	800	40.0	20.0	57.8
2017	801	39.4	20.3	57.3
2018	764	38.0	20.0	54.1
2019	782	38.8	20.1	56.5
2020	747	38.8	19.2	55.8
2021	700	37.3	18.7	53.6
2022	527	26.2	20.1	36.2
2023	435	23.6	18.4	46.2

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 Truman Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	699	35.0	19.9	0
1989	708	35.0	20.2	n/a
1990	689	35.6	19.3	0
1991	674	35.9	18.7	n/a
1992	706	34.7	20.3	n/a
1993	711	38.3	18.6	n/a
1994	706	37.5	18.8	n/a
1995	661	35.2	18.8	n/a
1996	661	35.2	18.8	n/a
1997	676	35.6	19.0	n/a
1998	692	35.6	19.4	n/a
1999	736	39.2	18.8	n/a
2000	736	39.0	18.9	n/a
2001	765	40.4	18.9	n/a
2002	786	39.4	19.9	40.5
2003	786	39.4	19.9	40.5
2004	761	40.0	19.0	40.1
2005	674	40.2	16.8	41.1
2006	660	33.8	19.5	40.5
2007	668	34.6	19.3	36.8
2008	658	35.6	18.5	38.8
2009	636	35.6	17.9	42.3
2010	606	32.4	18.7	51
2011	748	40.8	18.3	50.7
2012	794	42.7	18.5	45.3
2013	763	39.7	19.2	62.9
2014	748	n/a	n/a	62
2015	758	38.0	19.9	57
2016	800	40.0	20.0	57.8
2017	801	39.4	20.3	57.3
2018	764	38.0	20.0	54.1
2019	782	38.8	20.1	56.5
2020	747	38.8	19.2	55.8
2021	700	37.3	18.7	53.6
2022	527	26.2	20.1	36.2
2023	435	23.6	18.4	46.2

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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