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La Center Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
273rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 76% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

La Center Elementary is a public school in La Center, Washington, serving preschool through fifth grade and 789 students in the La Center School District. It is one of the larger schools in the local comparison group and serves a moderately diverse community, with 32.83% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s student-teacher ratio was 16.7:1 in 2024–25.

The school has shown especially strong recent momentum. Its latest statewide ranking was 273rd out of 1,138 schools, placing it in the 76th percentile—up from the 49th percentile in 2023–24. Science is the clearest academic strength: 70.59% of students were proficient in 2025–26, compared with 50.95% statewide and 53.69% across the district. That result was close to Chinook Elementary School and Green Mountain School, and higher than many nearby schools. Math proficiency was 45.58%, slightly above the state and district averages, while ELA proficiency was 50.00%, slightly below both. Fifth grade was notably stronger than third and fourth grade in both subjects.

Compared with nearby schools, La Center Elementary ranks near the upper tier overall, although Union Ridge Elementary and Chinook Elementary School posted higher ELA and math results. The school’s lower spending per student—$16,533 compared with an approximate nearby-school average of $18,812—also stands out. Its low-socioeconomic-status students ranked relatively well statewide, but the special education subgroup remained at the 15th percentile for the third consecutive year. Overall, the strongest improvement opportunities are third- and fourth-grade literacy and math, along with support for students receiving special education services.

789
Students ?
16.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,533
Per pupil spending ?
32.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 700 East 4th Street
       La Center, WA  98629

(360) 263-2134

District: La Center School District


Students who attend La Center Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    La Center Middle School
High:    La Center High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
81.0%
Hispanic:
10.9%
Two or more races:
5.2%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare La Center Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 36th percentile in 2016 → 76th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranks in the top 24% of Washington elementary schools
✓Ranking is trending up — up 40 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school51%
District avg48%
Washington avg48%
273rd of 1,138
Washington public elementary schools ?
Top 24%▲ up 40 pts since 2016
From bottom 36% (2016) to top 24% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
49th of 238La Center 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
202673.9273 of 113876.0%★★★★☆
202555.1493 of 116057.5%★★★☆☆
202447.3593 of 116849.2%★★☆☆☆
202347.8583 of 116950.1%★★★☆☆
202247.1598 of 116948.8%★★☆☆☆
202143.3585 of 110747.2%★★☆☆☆
201957.0489 of 113056.7%★★★☆☆
201844.2592 of 105443.8%★★☆☆☆
201730.5768 of 105627.3%★☆☆☆☆
201639.4670 of 105336.4%★★☆☆☆
201348.5619 of 110644.0%★★☆☆☆
201244.3654 of 109740.4%★★☆☆☆
201152.6541 of 109250.5%★★★☆☆
201049.4570 of 108847.6%★★☆☆☆
200951.4533 of 107250.3%★★★☆☆
200857.1469 of 106756.0%★★★☆☆
200754.2503 of 106952.9%★★★☆☆
200655.2483 of 105154.0%★★★☆☆
200557.7441 of 103157.2%★★★☆☆
200428.9779 of 102624.1%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202661.6364 of 102064.3%★★★☆☆
202552.4490 of 109255.1%★★★☆☆
202449.0537 of 109350.9%★★★☆☆
202357.2435 of 109460.2%★★★☆☆
202250.4514 of 110053.3%★★★☆☆
202149.1472 of 100853.2%★★★☆☆
201950.6558 of 106847.8%★★☆☆☆
201842.6601 of 100440.1%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202647.7357 of 64945.0%★★☆☆☆
202547.8330 of 65949.9%★★★☆☆
202452.8300 of 65153.9%★★★☆☆
202389.427 of 63395.7%★★★★★
202251.9279 of 69459.8%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202659.7382 of 100862.1%★★★☆☆
202567.6262 of 101374.1%★★★★☆
202459.7374 of 102463.5%★★★☆☆
202358.2374 of 101363.1%★★★☆☆
202266.3249 of 101975.6%★★★★☆
202137.7536 of 85437.2%★★☆☆☆
201955.1438 of 97955.3%★★★☆☆
201841.8510 of 83538.9%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202655.2470 of 105955.6%★★★☆☆
202557.4437 of 109860.2%★★★☆☆
202444.1594 of 109946.0%★★☆☆☆
202336.5687 of 109937.5%★★☆☆☆
202244.7578 of 111348.1%★★☆☆☆
202136.0630 of 102538.5%★★☆☆☆
201963.8374 of 107565.2%★★★☆☆
201849.1508 of 99949.1%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202622.9369 of 43214.6%★☆☆☆☆
202523.2307 of 36315.4%★☆☆☆☆
202417.5306 of 3399.7%★☆☆☆☆
202317.9280 of 3089.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202244.5230 of 47851.9%★★★☆☆
202128.1130 of 15817.7%★☆☆☆☆
201937.1330 of 56641.7%★★☆☆☆
201828.7481 of 63724.5%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202650.6453 of 90149.7%★★☆☆☆
202547.7523 of 100748.1%★★☆☆☆
202438.4641 of 100936.5%★★☆☆☆
202333.3718 of 101129.0%★☆☆☆☆
202234.2715 of 103130.6%★★☆☆☆
202130.6677 of 94328.2%★☆☆☆☆
201943.7628 of 102738.9%★★☆☆☆
201830.5617 of 83325.9%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Female (2026)64th percentile-12 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)62nd percentile-14 vs school
Male (2026)56th percentile-20 vs school
White (2026)50th percentile-26 vs school
Hispanic (2026)45th percentile-31 vs school
Special Education (2026)15th percentile-61 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
Science71%+20 vs state
English Language Arts50%-3 vs state
Math46%~ state avg

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Frequently Asked Questions about La Center Elementary

La Center Elementary ranks 273rd of 1138 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 789 students attended La Center Elementary.

Students at La Center Elementary are 81% White, 11% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races.

Students who attend La Center Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : La Center Middle School
High : La Center 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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