Is Cottonwood Elementary School a good school?

Cottonwood Elementary School ranks 160 th of 1168 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Cottonwood Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 397 students attended Cottonwood Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Cottonwood Elementary School?

Students at Cottonwood Elementary School are 62% White, 30% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Cottonwood Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Cottonwood Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : West Valley Mid-Level Campus High : West Valley High School

Cottonwood Elementary School

Summary:

Cottonwood Elementary School is a public elementary school in Yakima, Washington, serving 397 students in grades K-5. As part of the West Valley School District, which is ranked 64 out of 247 districts in the state, Cottonwood Elementary consistently performs at a high level, ranking in the top 20% of Washington elementary schools.

Cottonwood Elementary's academic performance is particularly impressive, with 72.12% of students proficient or better in ELA and 66.67% proficient or better in Math, significantly outpacing the district and state averages. The school's strong performance is especially notable for its Hispanic student population, which ranks in the top 5-10% of Washington elementary schools. Cottonwood's diverse student body, with 62.47% White and 30.48% Hispanic students, and a lower percentage of free/reduced-price lunch recipients compared to nearby Yakima School District schools, suggests a more socioeconomically diverse community.

Cottonwood Elementary's success may be attributed to its efficient resource allocation, with higher per-student spending ($17,106 in 2021-2022) and a lower student-teacher ratio of around 16:1, compared to the nearby schools in the Yakima School District. This combination of strong academic performance, equity-focused outcomes, and effective resource utilization makes Cottonwood Elementary a model for other elementary schools in the region.

Detail:

Public K-5

1041 S 96th Ave
Yakima, WA 98908-9746

(509) 965-2052

District: West Valley School District (Yakima)

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,106

Students who attend Cottonwood Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	West Valley Mid-Level Campus
High:	West Valley High School

Student/teacher ratio: 16.4

Number of students: 397

Racial breakdown:

White:

62.5%

Hispanic:

30.5%

Asian:

3.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 36%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Cottonwood Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Cottonwood Elementary School ranks better than 86.3% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks first among 6 ranked elementary schools in the West Valley School District (Yakima)! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 85.25. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (62.5%), Hispanic (30.5%), Asian (3.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 36% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the West Valley School District (Yakima). (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Cottonwood Elementary School is 16.4, which is the 3^rd best among 6 elementary schools in the West Valley School District (Yakima). (See more...)

Compare Cottonwood Elementary School employs 24.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Cottonwood Elementary School is $17,106, which is the 2^nd highest among 6 elementary schools in the West Valley School District (Yakima).

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Cottonwood Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Cottonwood Elementary School 160^th of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Cottonwood Elementary School 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:

West Valley School District (Yakima):

SchoolDigger ranks West Valley School District (Yakima) 64^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Cottonwood Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Cottonwood Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	78.65	169^th	1026	83.5%
2005	71.90	262^nd	1031	74.6%
2006	67.73	292^nd	1051	72.2%
2007	63.42	387^th	1069	63.8%
2008	74.65	218^th	1067	79.6%
2009	76.92	186^th	1072	82.6%
2010	65.21	343^rd	1088	68.5%
2011	60.22	426^th	1092	61.0%
2012	79.76	156^th	1097	85.8%
2013	72.89	266^th	1106	75.9%
2015	72.04	266^th	1067	75.1%
2016	84.85	141^st	1053	86.6%
2017	73.93	263^rd	1056	75.1%
2018	77.07	234^th	1054	77.8%
2019	82.05	182^nd	1130	83.9%
2021	80.67	197^th	1107	82.2%
2022	83.15	185^th	1169	84.2%
2023	78.60	236^th	1169	79.8%
2024	85.25	160^th	1168	86.3%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Cottonwood Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	94.18	21^st	637	96.7%
2019	64.21	139^th	566	75.4%
2022	75.54	68^th	478	85.8%
2023	63.15	83^rd	308	73.1%
2024	74.57	51^st	339	85.0%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	76.19	110^th	835	86.8%
2019	74.76	147^th	979	85.0%
2021	67.06	190^th	854	77.8%
2022	77.22	120^th	1019	88.2%
2023	72.15	212^th	1013	79.1%
2024	88.50	47^th	1024	95.4%

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

Rank History for Female students at Cottonwood Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	70.84	284^th	1004	71.7%
2019	78.01	216^th	1068	79.8%
2021	78.32	183^rd	1008	81.8%
2022	83.60	164^th	1100	85.1%
2023	81.65	182^nd	1094	83.4%
2024	81.03	184^th	1093	83.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Cottonwood Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	81.15	169^th	999	83.1%
2019	84.67	148^th	1075	86.2%
2021	77.50	218^th	1025	78.7%
2022	80.57	201^st	1113	81.9%
2023	72.91	269^th	1099	75.5%
2024	88.07	114^th	1099	89.6%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Cottonwood Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2019	81.97	76^th	697	89.1%
2021	88.12	25^th	501	95.0%
2022	87.98	45^th	694	93.5%
2023	84.15	56^th	633	91.2%
2024	86.88	39^th	651	94.0%

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

Rank History for White students at Cottonwood Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	76.76	185^th	833	77.8%
2019	84.69	115^th	1027	88.8%
2021	80.02	158^th	943	83.2%
2022	82.25	151^st	1031	85.4%
2023	76.19	230^th	1011	77.3%
2024	80.34	173^rd	1009	82.9%

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 Cottonwood Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1994	472	5	10	41	11	n/a	n/a	0	539
1995	457	2	6	48	4	n/a	n/a	0	517
1996	457	2	6	48	4	n/a	n/a	0	517
1997	351	2	3	43	4	n/a	n/a	0	403
1998	355	3	4	42	4	n/a	n/a	0	408
1999	335	4	5	40	5	n/a	n/a	0	389
2000	314	3	3	37	4	n/a	n/a	0	361
2001	311	5	3	36	4	n/a	n/a	0	359
2002	284	7	4	44	4	n/a	n/a	0	343
2003	284	7	4	44	4	n/a	n/a	0	343
2004	301	6	5	49	3	n/a	n/a	0	364
2005	315	5	4	61	3	n/a	n/a	0	388
2006	318	4	7	58	5	n/a	n/a	0	392
2007	331	3	8	61	7	n/a	n/a	2	412
2008	349	3	8	70	5	n/a	n/a	2	437
2009	382	4	12	87	5	n/a	n/a	13	503
2010	361	7	15	109	7	n/a	n/a	0	499
2011	308	2	8	101	3	0	3	0	425
2012	283	3	14	71	3	0	7	0	381
2013	303	4	19	87	6	0	3	0	422
2014	277	5	14	74	5	1	7	0	383
2015	303	5	18	87	3	1	8	0	425
2016	284	5	17	110	3	1	11	0	431
2017	279	5	15	117	3	0	17	0	436
2018	281	7	18	122	1	0	21	0	450
2019	290	3	20	124	0	0	13	0	450
2020	298	4	19	132	2	0	11	0	466
2021	260	5	14	128	4	0	8	0	419
2022	244	2	17	95	1	0	6	0	365
2023	248	5	14	121	2	0	7	0	397

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 Cottonwood Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1994	539	25.8	20.9	n/a
1995	517	25.1	20.6	n/a
1996	517	25.1	20.6	n/a
1997	403	19.8	20.4	n/a
1998	408	18.2	22.4	n/a
1999	389	18.0	21.6	n/a
2000	361	18.1	19.9	n/a
2001	359	19.2	18.7	n/a
2002	343	19.0	18.1	33.5
2003	343	19.0	18.1	33.5
2004	364	20.0	18.2	29.1
2005	388	20.5	18.9	31.7
2006	392	23.0	17.0	39.3
2007	412	22.7	18.1	36.8
2008	437	23.9	18.3	33.1
2009	503	23.9	21.0	34.5
2010	499	26.0	19.1	36.5
2011	425	23.0	18.4	30.4
2012	381	21.5	17.7	32.5
2013	422	20.8	20.2	35.5
2014	383	n/a	n/a	32.4
2015	425	28.0	15.1	28.5
2016	431	24.0	17.9	32
2017	436	24.8	17.5	31.2
2018	450	25.1	17.8	24.9
2019	450	28.1	15.9	27.6
2020	466	27.0	17.2	32.2
2021	419	26.1	16.0	32.7
2022	365	24.0	15.2	28.2
2023	397	24.1	16.4	36

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 Cottonwood Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1994	539	25.8	20.9	n/a
1995	517	25.1	20.6	n/a
1996	517	25.1	20.6	n/a
1997	403	19.8	20.4	n/a
1998	408	18.2	22.4	n/a
1999	389	18.0	21.6	n/a
2000	361	18.1	19.9	n/a
2001	359	19.2	18.7	n/a
2002	343	19.0	18.1	33.5
2003	343	19.0	18.1	33.5
2004	364	20.0	18.2	29.1
2005	388	20.5	18.9	31.7
2006	392	23.0	17.0	39.3
2007	412	22.7	18.1	36.8
2008	437	23.9	18.3	33.1
2009	503	23.9	21.0	34.5
2010	499	26.0	19.1	36.5
2011	425	23.0	18.4	30.4
2012	381	21.5	17.7	32.5
2013	422	20.8	20.2	35.5
2014	383	n/a	n/a	32.4
2015	425	28.0	15.1	28.5
2016	431	24.0	17.9	32
2017	436	24.8	17.5	31.2
2018	450	25.1	17.8	24.9
2019	450	28.1	15.9	27.6
2020	466	27.0	17.2	32.2
2021	419	26.1	16.0	32.7
2022	365	24.0	15.2	28.2
2023	397	24.1	16.4	36

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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