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Shining Mountain Elementary

Q: Is Shining Mountain Elementary a good school?

Shining Mountain Elementary ranks 725 th of 1138 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Q: How many students attend Shining Mountain Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 613 students attended Shining Mountain Elementary.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Shining Mountain Elementary?

Students at Shining Mountain Elementary are 28% White, 25% Hispanic, 19% Two or more races, 12% Pacific Islander, 11% African American, 5% Asian.

Q: What schools do graduates of Shining Mountain Elementary attend?

Students who attend Shining Mountain Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Bethel Middle School High : Bethel High School

Public Grades K-5

725^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools

Better than 36% of Washington elementary schools

Summary

Shining Mountain Elementary is a K–5 school in Spanaway, Washington, serving 613 students in the Bethel School District in a relatively high-need community. About 65.74% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–2025. The school’s 2025–2026 statewide ranking was 725th out of 1,138 schools, placing it in the 36th percentile and earning a 2-star SchoolDigger rating. This is below the district’s 3-star rating and puts Shining Mountain near the bottom of its local comparison group, ahead of only Frederickson Elementary and slightly behind Evergreen Elementary and Centennial Elementary.

Test results show both challenges and signs of progress. In 2025–2026, proficiency was 43.53% in English Language Arts, 39.12% in math, and 44.63% in science. Math was slightly above the Bethel School District average, while ELA and science were below district and state results. Compared with nearby schools, Shining Mountain trailed the local average in all three subjects. Its 39.12% math result was well below Pioneer Valley Elementary at 59.51% and Clover Creek Elementary at 58.68%. Grade-level results point to a particular concern in fourth and fifth grade: fourth-grade proficiency was 34.91% in ELA and 33.02% in math, while third grade was substantially stronger. The school improved in every tested subject from the prior year, with math increasing by 5.48 percentage points.

The school’s recent improvement is encouraging, but it appears to be an early step rather than a completed turnaround. Its 36th-percentile ranking is the strongest in the available recent history, although it remains below higher-performing nearby schools such as Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School, ranked in the 76th percentile, and Clover Creek Elementary, ranked in the 73rd percentile. Shining Mountain’s student-teacher ratio of 16.2:1 and spending of $18,655 per student are broadly typical locally. One positive sign is that several student groups, including Hispanic, multi-racial, low-income, and special education students, had stronger statewide subgroup rankings than the school overall, though these figures can vary considerably from year to year. The clearest priorities suggested by the data are strengthening fourth- and fifth-grade math, sustaining ELA gains, and identifying effective practices that can be extended schoolwide.

613

Students ?

16.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,655

Per pupil spending ?

65.7%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

21615 38th Ave E
Spanaway, WA 98387-6827

(253) 800-5200

District: Bethel School District

Students who attend Shining Mountain Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Bethel Middle School
High:	Bethel High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

28.2%

Hispanic:

25.3%

Two or more races:

19.2%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Shining Mountain Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 19th percentile in 2016 → 36th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 17 percentile points since 2016

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school42%

District avg44%

Washington avg48%

725^th of 1,138

Washington public elementary schools ?

Bottom 36%▲ up 17 pts since 2016

From bottom 19% (2016) to bottom 36% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

14^th of 19Elementary Schools in the Bethel School District

116^th of 238Bethel 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	36.8	725 of 1138	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.4	863 of 1160	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.6	761 of 1168	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.4	868 of 1169	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.5	774 of 1169	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.2	869 of 1107	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.0	832 of 1130	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.9	739 of 1054	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	27.4	798 of 1056	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	23.1	855 of 1053	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	37.5	694 of 1067	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2013	40.4	706 of 1106	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	41.0	706 of 1097	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2011	39.7	710 of 1092	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2010	45.1	624 of 1088	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	25.1	867 of 1072	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	36.1	729 of 1067	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2007	24.4	877 of 1069	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	33.1	759 of 1051	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	29.9	764 of 1031	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	56.8	441 of 1026	57.0%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	52.5	30 of 82	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2025	35.1	53 of 75	29.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	80.2	10 of 108	90.7%	★★★★★
2019	46.8	54 of 110	50.9%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	41.1	182 of 326	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	35.4	190 of 303	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.2	216 of 320	32.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	35.4	695 of 1020	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	28.9	796 of 1092	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	40.2	646 of 1093	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.7	773 of 1094	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.1	774 of 1100	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.8	837 of 1008	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	34.0	754 of 1068	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.8	707 of 1004	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	59.3	219 of 649	66.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	51.6	297 of 659	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	37.0	436 of 651	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	55.1	266 of 633	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	45.3	347 of 694	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	40.3	270 of 501	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	62.6	219 of 697	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	54.0	224 of 540	58.5%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	57.3	408 of 1008	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2025	44.2	572 of 1013	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.9	599 of 1024	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.2	622 of 1013	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	52.7	437 of 1019	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	32.6	602 of 854	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.8	581 of 979	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.1	541 of 835	35.2%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	44.4	605 of 1059	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	26.0	836 of 1098	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.3	802 of 1099	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.5	874 of 1099	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.9	699 of 1113	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.5	828 of 1025	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.6	767 of 1075	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.9	690 of 999	30.9%	★★☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2022	36.6	38 of 50	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.8	47 of 50	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	59.7	28 of 119	76.5%	★★★★☆
2025	27.7	166 of 197	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	63.1	56 of 188	70.2%	★★★★☆
2023	32.1	145 of 194	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	38.8	160 of 252	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	15.2	116 of 128	9.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.0	217 of 303	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	39.0	136 of 212	35.8%	★★☆☆☆

Pacific Islander

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2024	28.4	3 of 3	0.0%	★★★★☆
2023	52.1	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★
2022	65.4	1 of 3	66.7%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	55.3	163 of 432	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	23.7	404 of 478	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.5	561 of 637	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	30.7	696 of 901	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.6	772 of 1007	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	40.5	624 of 1009	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	20.1	869 of 1011	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.1	776 of 1031	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.3	854 of 943	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.3	890 of 1027	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.7	751 of 833	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Multi-racial (2026)76th percentile+40 vs school

Hispanic (2026)66th percentile+30 vs school

African American (2026)63rd percentile+27 vs school

Special Education (2026)62nd percentile+26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)60th percentile+23 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)44th percentile+8 vs school

Male (2026)43rd percentile+7 vs school

Female (2026)32nd percentile-4 vs school

Military Connected (2022)24th percentile-10 vs school

White (2026)23rd percentile-14 vs school

Pacific Islander (2024)<1st percentile-35 vs school

By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?

Science45%-6 vs state

English Language Arts44%-9 vs state

Math39%-4 vs state

4.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Sunday, September 25, 2011

Like any school, has positives and negatives but is definitely on the upswing! No Excuses University School! Close Quote

Schools Near Shining Mountain Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				WCAS Science (2026)			SBAC English Language Arts (2026)							SBAC Math (2026)							% Completely Immunized (2024)	% Polio (2024)	% Measles (2024)	% Mumps (2024)	% Rubella (2024)	% Diphtheria (2024)	% Hepatitis B (2024)	% Varicella (2024)	% Pertussis (2024)	% Tetanus (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WCAS Science 5th Grade	WCAS Science 8th Grade	WCAS Science All Grades	SBAC English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 4th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 5th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts All Grades	SBAC Math 3rd Grade	SBAC Math 4th Grade	SBAC Math 5th Grade	SBAC Math 6th Grade	SBAC Math 7th Grade	SBAC Math 8th Grade	SBAC Math All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Measles KG	% Mumps KG	% Rubella KG	% Diphtheria KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% Pertussis KG	% Tetanus KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Shining Mountain Elementary	Public	K-5	21615 38th Ave E	Spanaway	98387	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-5200	613	38	16.2	65.7%	173 (28.2%)	65 (10.6%)	155 (25.3%)	28 (4.6%)	2 (0.3%)	72 (11.7%)	118 (19.2%)	36.8	725^th of 1138 public elementary schools	36.3%		27.4	863^rd of 1160 public elementary schools	25.6%	138	44.6		44.6	50.0	34.9	46.3				43.5	52.2	33.0	34.7				39.1	90.0	94.0	95.0	95.0	95.0	91.0	96.0	94.0	91.0	91.0	$18,655	$1,501	$17,154
Elk Plain School of Choice	Public	K-8	22015 22nd Avenue East	Spanaway	98397	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	No	(253) 800-7900	574	34	17.0	39.7%	322 (56.1%)	50 (8.7%)	76 (13.2%)	17 (3.0%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.9%)	101 (17.6%)	62	402^nd of 1138 public elementary schools	64.7%		54.1	502^nd of 1160 public elementary schools	56.7%	100	56.4	63.2	60.3	49.4	49.1	61.8	55.8	60.3	59.2	56.0	53.3	56.4	36.4	49.4	52.6	50.0	50.0	88.6	88.6	93.2	93.2	93.2	88.6	88.6	90.9	88.6	88.6	$18,221	$745	$17,476
Centennial Elementary	Public	K-5	24353 Mathias Rd E	Graham	98338	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-7700	540	36	14.9	67.0%	263 (48.7%)	19 (3.5%)	128 (23.7%)	4 (0.7%)	7 (1.3%)	26 (4.8%)	93 (17.2%)	37.6	709^th of 1138 public elementary schools	37.7%		46.4	599^th of 1160 public elementary schools	48.4%	110	44.0		44.0	44.6	45.7	37.3				43.1	49.6	42.6	25.7				40.9	80.4	86.6	83.9	83.9	83.9	83.9	89.3	83.9	83.9	83.9	$18,744	$1,370	$17,374
Pioneer Valley Elementary	Public	K-5	7315 Eustis Hunt Road	Spanaway	98387	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-8900	524	34	15.5	56.5%	213 (40.6%)	39 (7.4%)	120 (22.9%)	15 (2.9%)	2 (0.4%)	44 (8.4%)	91 (17.4%)	66.1	354^th of 1138 public elementary schools	68.9%		70	312^th of 1160 public elementary schools	73.1%	42	50.0		50.0	52.1	58.5	54.4				55.0	69.8	57.3	51.1				59.5	92.0	94.3	94.3	94.3	94.3	93.1	97.7	92.0	93.1	93.1	$18,584	$1,190	$17,394
North Star Elementary	Public	K-5	7719 224th Street East	Graham	98338	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-8800	446	31	14.5	52.0%	251 (56.3%)	10 (2.2%)	79 (17.7%)	10 (2.2%)	3 (0.7%)	20 (4.5%)	72 (16.1%)	57.4	453^rd of 1138 public elementary schools	60.2%		57	470^th of 1160 public elementary schools	59.5%	17	62.0		62.0	67.5	37.8	56.3				53.7	62.5	41.5	39.4				48.1	86.3	89.0	89.0	89.0	89.0	89.0	91.8	86.3	89.0	89.0	$18,421	$996	$17,425
Clover Creek Elementary	Public	K-5	16715 36th Avenue East	Tacoma	98446	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-7800	617	39	15.9	51.5%	201 (32.6%)	63 (10.2%)	133 (21.6%)	44 (7.1%)	3 (0.5%)	53 (8.6%)	120 (19.4%)	70.8	306^th of 1138 public elementary schools	73.1%		64.7	381^st of 1160 public elementary schools	67.2%	75	65.4		65.4	48.1	66.7	65.4				59.8	52.4	59.8	53.9				55.2	94.8	94.8	97.9	97.9	97.9	94.8	99.0	96.9	94.8	94.8	$17,145	$1,176	$15,968
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	16720 Waller Rd E	Tacoma	98446	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	No	(253) 800-3000	592	34	17.4	54.9%	157 (26.5%)	87 (14.7%)	112 (18.9%)	57 (9.6%)	9 (1.5%)	47 (7.9%)	123 (20.8%)	73.7	276^th of 1138 public elementary schools	75.7%		63.4	393^rd of 1160 public elementary schools	66.1%	117	67.7		67.7	53.3	62.3	63.4				59.6	58.9	60.7	52.7				57.8	89.9	92.1	92.1	92.1	92.1	91.0	96.6	92.1	91.0	91.0	$16,576	$1,246	$15,330
Rocky Ridge Elementary	Public	K-5	6514 260th Street East	Graham	98338	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-5000	430	28	15.3	60.9%	232 (54.0%)	13 (3.0%)	90 (20.9%)	2 (0.5%)	5 (1.2%)	14 (3.3%)	74 (17.2%)	54.9	494^th of 1138 public elementary schools	56.6%		50	557^th of 1160 public elementary schools	52.0%	63	56.4		56.4	41.4	42.5	56.4				47.1	55.7	54.8	46.2				52.0	89.9	89.9	92.4	92.4	92.4	89.9	94.9	89.9	89.9	89.9	$19,718	$1,480	$18,237
Evergreen Elementary	Public	K-5	1311 172nd Street East	Spanaway	98387	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-8200	530	36	14.6	66.4%	187 (35.3%)	42 (7.9%)	118 (22.3%)	28 (5.3%)	5 (0.9%)	33 (6.2%)	117 (22.1%)	36.3	733^rd of 1138 public elementary schools	35.6%		30.8	815^th of 1160 public elementary schools	29.7%	82	39.3		39.3	49.4	38.8	41.7				43.3	50.6	45.7	25.0				40.3	86.8	89.0	89.0	89.0	89.0	86.8	92.3	89.0	86.8	86.8	$18,239	$1,631	$16,608
Camas Prairie Elementary	Public	K-5	320 176th Street East	Spanaway	98387	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 800-7400	529	39	13.5	67.9%	151 (28.5%)	47 (8.9%)	140 (26.5%)	29 (5.5%)	1 (0.2%)	57 (10.8%)	104 (19.7%)	55.5	486^th of 1138 public elementary schools	57.3%		62.1	410^th of 1160 public elementary schools	64.7%	76	48.0		48.0	46.6	55.6	47.9				49.6	55.8	53.5	51.0				53.4	86.4	89.8	89.8	89.8	89.8	87.5	94.3	88.6	87.5	87.5	$20,664	$1,504	$19,160

Frequently Asked Questions about Shining Mountain Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Shining Mountain Elementary?

Students at Shining Mountain Elementary are 28% White, 25% Hispanic, 19% Two or more races, 12% Pacific Islander, 11% African American, 5% Asian.

How many students attend Shining Mountain Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 613 students attended Shining Mountain Elementary.

Is Shining Mountain Elementary a good school?

Shining Mountain Elementary ranks 725^th of 1138 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Shining Mountain Elementary in?

Bethel School District

What schools do graduates of Shining Mountain Elementary attend?

Students who attend Shining Mountain Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Bethel Middle School
High : Bethel 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.