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Pioneer Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
950th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 17% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

Pioneer Elementary School is a public prekindergarten–fifth-grade school in Auburn, Washington, serving 621 students in the Auburn School District. The school serves a relatively high-need community, with 71.98% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Its student-teacher ratio is a relative strength at 14.4 to 1, but academic results remain a concern: Pioneer ranks 950th out of 1,138 Washington elementary schools, in the 17th percentile, with a one-star rating.

Pioneer’s 2025–2026 proficiency rates were 28.21% in English language arts, 32.86% in math, and 17.78% in science. Math was nearly identical to the district average of 32.91%, making it the school’s relative strength, although it remained below the state rate of 43.11% and declined from 37% in third grade to 27.78% in fifth grade. ELA and science were much weaker than district results, especially science, which was 20.44 percentage points below the district. Fifth grade was a particular concern across subjects: proficiency was 25.56% in ELA, 27.78% in math, and 17.78% in science.

Recent results suggest stabilization at a low level rather than a sustained turnaround. Pioneer’s ELA performance has remained in the mid-to-high 20% range, while science fell from 33.33% in 2023–2024 to 17.78% in 2025–2026. The school also trails several nearby schools serving similar proportions of economically disadvantaged students. For example, Gildo Rey Elementary School posted higher 2025–2026 results in ELA, math, and science, as did Terminal Park Elementary School. Other nearby schools, including Lea Hill Elementary School and Lakeland Hills Elementary, performed substantially better overall. The most important areas to examine are literacy instruction, fifth-grade science preparation, upper-grade math progress, attendance and intervention supports, and practices used by stronger schools in the district.

621
Students ?
14.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,748
Per pupil spending ?
72%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2301 M St SE
       Auburn, WA  98002

(253) 931-4986

District: Auburn School District


Students who attend Pioneer Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Olympic Middle School
High:    Auburn Senior High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
59.7%
White:
14.3%
Two or more races:
8.1%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare Pioneer Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 78th percentile in 2016 → 17th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Washington average (29% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 61 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school29%
District avg38%
Washington avg48%
950th of 1,138
Washington public elementary schools ?
Bottom 17%▼ down 62 pts since 2016
From top 22% (2016) to bottom 17% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
14th of 16Elementary Schools in the Auburn School District
148th of 238Auburn 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
202616.1950 of 113816.5%★☆☆☆☆
202517.9988 of 116014.8%★☆☆☆☆
202418.2993 of 116815.0%★☆☆☆☆
202320.8967 of 116917.3%★☆☆☆☆
202216.51017 of 116913.0%★☆☆☆☆
20219.61052 of 11075.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201936.3743 of 113034.2%★★☆☆☆
201840.7629 of 105440.3%★★☆☆☆
201771.8286 of 105672.9%★★★★☆
201677.1228 of 105378.3%★★★★☆
201568.3305 of 106771.4%★★★★☆
201365.1387 of 110665.0%★★★☆☆
201261.9421 of 109761.6%★★★☆☆
201158.5455 of 109258.3%★★★☆☆
201051.6533 of 108851.0%★★★☆☆
200950.0560 of 107247.8%★★☆☆☆
200851.2554 of 106748.1%★★☆☆☆
200738.8703 of 106934.2%★★☆☆☆
200640.2680 of 105135.3%★★☆☆☆
200528.4786 of 103123.8%★☆☆☆☆
200423.5841 of 102618.0%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202627.2251 of 32623.0%★☆☆☆☆
202547.0137 of 30354.8%★★★☆☆
202424.9251 of 32021.6%★☆☆☆☆
202333.3162 of 25436.2%★★☆☆☆
202236.5128 of 21339.9%★★☆☆☆
201970.025 of 24889.9%★★★★★
201869.745 of 33386.5%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202620.0864 of 102015.3%★☆☆☆☆
202520.1919 of 109215.8%★☆☆☆☆
202421.6886 of 109318.9%★☆☆☆☆
202325.9841 of 109423.1%★☆☆☆☆
202221.1909 of 110017.4%★☆☆☆☆
202117.4881 of 100812.6%★☆☆☆☆
201928.2824 of 106822.8%★☆☆☆☆
201839.8625 of 100437.7%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202624.5536 of 64917.4%★☆☆☆☆
202529.8502 of 65923.8%★☆☆☆☆
202434.2449 of 65131.0%★★☆☆☆
202334.8434 of 63331.4%★★☆☆☆
202229.7512 of 69426.2%★☆☆☆☆
202120.4435 of 50113.2%★☆☆☆☆
201965.1195 of 69772.0%★★★★☆
201861.3183 of 54066.1%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202620.6882 of 100812.5%★☆☆☆☆
202528.8777 of 101323.3%★☆☆☆☆
202427.4798 of 102422.1%★☆☆☆☆
202330.2768 of 101324.2%★☆☆☆☆
202217.5932 of 10198.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202111.4832 of 8542.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201959.7365 of 97962.7%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202614.4968 of 10598.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202515.2985 of 109810.3%★☆☆☆☆
202414.2988 of 109910.1%★☆☆☆☆
202315.2983 of 109910.6%★☆☆☆☆
202214.11004 of 11139.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.8980 of 10254.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201946.1598 of 107544.4%★★☆☆☆
201841.6585 of 99941.4%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202629.2709 of 90121.3%★☆☆☆☆
202555.0448 of 100755.5%★★★☆☆
202438.9636 of 100937.0%★★☆☆☆
202362.1376 of 101162.8%★★★☆☆
202248.7524 of 103149.2%★★☆☆☆
202129.1688 of 94327.0%★☆☆☆☆
201962.5389 of 102762.1%★★★☆☆
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)
English Language Learner (2026)23rd percentile+6 vs school
White (2026)21st percentile+5 vs school
Hispanic (2026)17th percentile~ school
Female (2026)15th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)12th percentile-4 vs school
Male (2026)9th percentile-8 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
Math33%-10 vs state
English Language Arts28%-25 vs state
Science18%-33 vs state

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What people are saying
by a parent
Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Open Quote The teachers and staff are rude. Zero parent involvement. I will be transferring my children after this year as all my neighbors have done. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Pioneer Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 621 students attended Pioneer Elementary School.

Pioneer Elementary School ranks in the bottom 16.5% of Washington elementary schools.

Students at Pioneer Elementary School are 60% Hispanic, 14% White, 8% Two or more races, 7% Pacific Islander, 6% Asian, 4% African American.

Students who attend Pioneer Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Olympic Middle School
High : Auburn Senior High School

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Latest Washington data All new data »
2025–26 SBAC & WCAS test scoresSep 10, 2026
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 8, 2026
2022–23 through 2023–24 school spending dataJan 6, 2026
2024–25 SBAC & WCAS test scoresSep 10, 2025


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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