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Barnes Elementary

Public Grades K-5
790th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,160 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 32% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

Barnes Elementary is a public K-5 school serving 343 students in the Kelso School District, located in a community with significant economic need where over three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

While the school's overall academic performance has historically been below state averages, it is on a strong and positive upward trend, showing more improvement recently than several nearby schools like Wallace Elementary. Barnes now performs in the middle range within its own district, ranking above Wallace but below schools like Lexington Elementary and Rose Valley Elementary. A notable strength is its math proficiency, which now exceeds the Kelso School District average, and its science scores are close to the state average.

The school receives significantly higher funding per student than other elementary schools in the area. Analysis shows Barnes is exceptionally effective in supporting its Hispanic students, achieving results for this group that rank among the top schools in Washington. Performance tends to be strongest in the younger grades, suggesting a focus area is sustaining that growth through 5th grade. Compared to other high-poverty schools in the region, Barnes is demonstrating a promising trajectory of improvement.

343
Students ?
16.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$21,299
Per pupil spending ?
78.4%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 401 Barnes
       Kelso, WA  98626

(360) 501-1500

District: Kelso School District


Students who attend Barnes Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Huntington Middle School
High:    Kelso High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
60.6%
Hispanic:
25.9%
Pacific Islander:
7.0%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare Barnes Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Rebounding — 13th percentile in 2023 → 32nd in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is rebounding — up to 32nd (2025) from a 13th-percentile low (2023)
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Washington average (42% vs 48% meeting standards)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!English Language Arts scores 13 pts below the Washington average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school42%
District avg42%
Washington avg48%
790th of 1,160
Washington public elementary schools ?
Bottom 32%▼ down 7 pts since 2015
From bottom 39% (2015) to bottom 32% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 6Elementary Schools in the Kelso School District
141st of 247Kelso School District among Washington districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202532.4790 of 116031.9%★★☆☆☆
202423.8918 of 116821.4%★☆☆☆☆
202317.41014 of 116913.3%★☆☆☆☆
202226.4874 of 116925.2%★☆☆☆☆
202128.5782 of 110729.4%★☆☆☆☆
201931.2817 of 113027.7%★☆☆☆☆
201818.2895 of 105415.1%★☆☆☆☆
201740.1647 of 105638.7%★★☆☆☆
201641.5643 of 105338.9%★★☆☆☆
201540.5656 of 106738.5%★★☆☆☆
201347.7628 of 110643.2%★★☆☆☆
201217.5978 of 109710.8%★☆☆☆☆
201128.5863 of 109221.0%★☆☆☆☆
201024.1901 of 108817.2%★☆☆☆☆
200922.1893 of 107216.7%★☆☆☆☆
200811.9992 of 10677.0%☆☆☆☆☆
200717.2948 of 106911.3%★☆☆☆☆
200624.8859 of 105118.3%★☆☆☆☆
200519.1878 of 103114.8%★☆☆☆☆
200450.8520 of 102649.3%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202535.0713 of 109234.7%★★☆☆☆
202418.9924 of 109315.5%★☆☆☆☆
202312.61013 of 10947.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202220.9911 of 110017.2%★☆☆☆☆
202123.7785 of 100822.1%★☆☆☆☆
201924.4861 of 106819.4%★☆☆☆☆
201814.4903 of 100410.1%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202580.473 of 65988.9%★★★★☆
202470.6153 of 65176.5%★★★★☆
202342.1374 of 63340.9%★★☆☆☆
202243.7360 of 69448.1%★★☆☆☆
201946.9367 of 69747.3%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202549.9489 of 101351.7%★★★☆☆
202434.9709 of 102430.8%★★☆☆☆
202328.0801 of 101320.9%★☆☆☆☆
202242.0596 of 101941.5%★★☆☆☆
202151.4358 of 85458.1%★★★☆☆
201961.3341 of 97965.2%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202529.5789 of 109828.1%★☆☆☆☆
202430.2775 of 109929.5%★☆☆☆☆
202322.7882 of 109919.7%★☆☆☆☆
202236.9684 of 111338.5%★★☆☆☆
202131.4690 of 102532.7%★★☆☆☆
201940.7664 of 107538.2%★★☆☆☆
201824.8786 of 99921.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
201924.5460 of 56618.7%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202519.4881 of 100712.5%★☆☆☆☆
202417.6908 of 100910.0%★☆☆☆☆
202310.5956 of 10115.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202214.6942 of 10318.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202111.0889 of 9435.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201920.9877 of 102714.6%★☆☆☆☆
20187.3804 of 8333.5%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Hispanic (2025)89th percentile+57 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)52nd percentile+20 vs school
Female (2025)35th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2025)28th percentile-4 vs school
Special Education (2019)19th percentile-9 vs school
White (2025)13th percentile-19 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2024-2025) ?
Science46%-4 vs state
English Language Arts40%-13 vs state
Math39%-3 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Barnes Elementary

Students who attend Barnes Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Huntington Middle School
High : Kelso High School

Barnes Elementary ranks 790th of 1160 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Barnes Elementary are 61% White, 26% Hispanic, 7% Pacific Islander, 5% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 343 students attended Barnes Elementary.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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