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Bow Lake Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
1067th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 6% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

Bow Lake Elementary is a PK–5 school in SeaTac serving 524 students in the Highline School District, an area with substantial student need and several nearby elementary-school options in Highline, Tukwila, and Kent. In 2024–25, 75.57% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch. The student–teacher ratio was 15.7:1, a favorable figure compared with several nearby schools, and per-student spending was $21,751 in 2023–24.

Academically, Bow Lake remains in the lower statewide tier, ranking at the 6th percentile in 2025–26. Proficiency was 21.72% in English language arts, 19.26% in math, and 25.00% in science—below both district and state averages. Among nearby Highline School District schools, Marvista Elementary and North Hill Elementary perform much better, while Midway Elementary and Madrona Elementary generally perform similarly or lower. Bow Lake exceeds River Ridge Elementary and Cascade View Elementary in all three tested subjects, but trails Tukwila Elementary and Impact | Puget Sound Elementary.

There are encouraging signs: ELA has improved steadily since 2022–23, science reached its strongest result in the latest year, and the statewide rank rose from the 2nd to the 6th percentile. Math remains the most persistent challenge, with proficiency below 22% in every tested grade. Third-grade ELA was especially weak at 12.22%, and fifth-grade math was 17.24%. Low-income-student effectiveness also remains low, while results for English language learners have improved. Overall, Bow Lake appears to be making gradual progress from a low starting point, but continued attention to early literacy, schoolwide math instruction, attendance, interventions, and consistent support across student groups will be important.

524
Students ?
15.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$21,751
Per pupil spending ?
75.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 18237 42nd Ave S
       SeaTac, WA  98188-4525

(206) 631-3500

District: Highline School District


Students who attend Bow Lake Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Chinook Middle School
High:    Tyee High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
32.3%
Hispanic:
26.7%
Asian:
15.6%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare Bow Lake Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 15th percentile in 2016 → 6th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Washington average (21% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school21%
District avg30%
Washington avg48%
1,067th of 1,138
Washington public elementary schools ?
Bottom 6%▼ down 9 pts since 2016
From bottom 15% (2016) to bottom 6% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
14th of 17Elementary Schools in the Highline School District
198th of 238Highline 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
20267.21067 of 11386.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20257.11124 of 11603.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.01143 of 11682.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.41147 of 11691.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.81130 of 11693.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.01069 of 11073.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201915.7990 of 113012.4%★☆☆☆☆
201818.7888 of 105415.7%★☆☆☆☆
201718.4897 of 105615.1%★☆☆☆☆
201618.6897 of 105314.8%★☆☆☆☆
201518.0922 of 106713.6%★☆☆☆☆
201319.9966 of 110612.7%★☆☆☆☆
201217.8973 of 109711.3%★☆☆☆☆
20119.41047 of 10924.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201020.5939 of 108813.7%★☆☆☆☆
20099.31026 of 10724.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20088.41021 of 10674.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20076.71035 of 10693.2%☆☆☆☆☆
200618.4930 of 105111.5%★☆☆☆☆
20055.11005 of 10312.5%☆☆☆☆☆
200410.0965 of 10265.9%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
20267.981 of 821.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.873 of 752.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20244.971 of 710.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.863 of 664.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.3105 of 1082.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202122.339 of 4717.0%★☆☆☆☆
201940.267 of 11039.1%★★☆☆☆
201837.172 of 10732.7%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202617.484 of 10318.4%★☆☆☆☆
20252.9185 of 1892.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20222.8184 of 1871.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20211.8130 of 1310.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201931.9152 of 20124.4%★☆☆☆☆
201826.3134 of 16920.7%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202619.4282 of 32613.5%★☆☆☆☆
202517.2271 of 30310.6%★☆☆☆☆
202410.3313 of 3202.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201834.3238 of 33328.5%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202610.7966 of 10205.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20256.91068 of 10922.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20247.61062 of 10932.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.11066 of 10942.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.51075 of 11002.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.3981 of 10082.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201914.1966 of 10689.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201816.8872 of 100413.1%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202626.1526 of 64919.0%★☆☆☆☆
202525.2536 of 65918.7%★☆☆☆☆
202411.1625 of 6514.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20239.6614 of 6333.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202224.0584 of 69415.9%★☆☆☆☆
202123.2419 of 50116.4%★☆☆☆☆
201931.3514 of 69726.3%★☆☆☆☆
201832.7385 of 54028.7%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202613.5943 of 10086.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.6973 of 10133.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.4992 of 10243.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.6970 of 10134.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.3971 of 10194.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202121.9736 of 85413.8%★☆☆☆☆
201928.0776 of 97920.7%★☆☆☆☆
201829.3650 of 83522.2%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
20268.21018 of 10593.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202510.51037 of 10985.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.51069 of 10992.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.41083 of 10991.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20229.31065 of 11134.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.0996 of 10252.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201918.5913 of 107515.1%★☆☆☆☆
201822.3818 of 99918.1%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202527.1168 of 19714.7%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
201927.6433 of 56623.5%★☆☆☆☆
201824.5513 of 63719.5%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
201917.2905 of 102711.9%★☆☆☆☆
201832.0604 of 83327.5%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Special Education (2019)23rd percentile+11 vs school
Hispanic (2026)19th percentile+13 vs school
Asian (2026)18th percentile+12 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)15th percentile+12 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)13th percentile+7 vs school
White (2019)12th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)6th percentile~ school
Female (2026)5th percentile~ school
Male (2026)4th percentile~ school
African American (2026)1st percentile-5 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
Science25%-26 vs state
English Language Arts22%-31 vs state
Math19%-24 vs state

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What people are saying
by a parent
Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Open Quote I have a child that needs lots of help with reading. She is going in to 2nd grade and is well below grade level that is what the test says, so I called the principal and he tells me that's ok and they don't do anything until the third grade and if I want to get her help I have to go fined it and pay for it. The school should pay for it because it is a public school. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Bow Lake Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 524 students attended Bow Lake Elementary.

Students who attend Bow Lake Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Chinook Middle School
High : Tyee High School

Students at Bow Lake Elementary are 32% African American, 27% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 10% White, 8% Two or more races, 6% Pacific Islander.

Bow Lake Elementary ranks in the bottom 6.2% of Washington elementary schools.

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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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