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Karshner Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-6
534th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 53% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

Karshner Elementary is a public school in Puyallup, Washington, serving approximately 405 students in pre-K through 6th grade as part of the Puyallup School District. The school is in a diverse, moderately sized suburban area near several district elementary schools. Karshner currently ranks in the 53rd percentile among Washington elementary schools and has a three-star rating, while the district ranks around the 70th percentile statewide. The most notable part of Karshner’s profile is its recent improvement: its statewide ranking rose from the 15th percentile in 2023–24 to the 53rd percentile in 2025–26.

Current results show improvement in every tested subject. Proficiency is 49.32% in English language arts, 43.24% in math, and 48.89% in science. Math is nearly identical to district and state results, making it the school’s strongest subject relative to broader benchmarks. ELA and science remain about five percentage points below the district. Performance is uneven by grade, with fourth grade standing out as the biggest concern: just 31.25% of fourth graders met the ELA standard and 28.13% met the math standard. By comparison, fourth-grade ELA proficiency is 64.86% at Maplewood Elementary and 65.38% at Shaw Road Elementary. Karshner also trails nearby schools overall, particularly in math and science, where Spinning Elementary and other local schools report stronger results.

Karshner’s strengths include a favorable student-teacher ratio of 14.3 to 1 and strong statewide effectiveness for English language learners, who rank in the 86th percentile. Students from low-income households also rank in the 62nd percentile for school effectiveness. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a higher share than at several nearby schools, including Fruitland Elementary and Maplewood Elementary. Overall, Karshner appears to be a school with meaningful recovery momentum rather than uniformly weak performance. Sustaining recent gains while focusing on fourth grade and science will be important for closing the remaining gap with higher-performing local schools.

405
Students ?
14.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$17,213
Per pupil spending ?
53.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1328 8th Ave NW
       Puyallup, WA  98371-4036

(253) 841-8736

District: Puyallup School District


Students who attend Karshner Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Aylen Junior High
High:    Puyallup High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
37.8%
Hispanic:
36.3%
Two or more races:
9.1%
more
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 Compare Karshner Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 50th percentile in 2016 → 53rd in 2026
Strengths
✓Above the Washington median (53rd percentile)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school47%
District avg50%
Washington avg48%
534th of 1,138
Washington public elementary schools ?
Top 47%▲ up 3 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
15th of 22Elementary Schools in the Puyallup School District
71st of 238Puyallup 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
202651.2534 of 113853.1%★★★☆☆
202526.6873 of 116024.7%★☆☆☆☆
202418.0994 of 116814.9%★☆☆☆☆
202324.2923 of 116921.0%★☆☆☆☆
202241.6657 of 116943.8%★★☆☆☆
202139.9631 of 110743.0%★★☆☆☆
201950.2578 of 113048.8%★★☆☆☆
201847.0560 of 105446.9%★★☆☆☆
201747.8562 of 105646.8%★★☆☆☆
201651.1524 of 105350.2%★★★☆☆
201551.3512 of 106752.0%★★★☆☆
201345.4657 of 110640.6%★★☆☆☆
201233.3806 of 109726.5%★☆☆☆☆
201133.7796 of 109227.1%★☆☆☆☆
201058.7430 of 108860.5%★★★☆☆
200957.6454 of 107257.6%★★★☆☆
200847.0602 of 106743.6%★★☆☆☆
200757.4459 of 106957.1%★★★☆☆
200632.7766 of 105127.1%★☆☆☆☆
200551.3517 of 103149.9%★★☆☆☆
200422.2853 of 102616.9%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202675.847 of 32685.6%★★★★☆
202553.4114 of 30362.4%★★★☆☆
201873.237 of 33388.9%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202657.5425 of 102058.3%★★★☆☆
202523.1870 of 109220.3%★☆☆☆☆
202420.2904 of 109317.3%★☆☆☆☆
202316.2958 of 109412.4%★☆☆☆☆
202234.8723 of 110034.3%★★☆☆☆
202129.8700 of 100830.6%★★☆☆☆
201950.5563 of 106847.3%★★☆☆☆
201846.1567 of 100443.5%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202662.4194 of 64970.1%★★★★☆
202548.6324 of 65950.8%★★★☆☆
202422.5544 of 65116.4%★☆☆☆☆
202336.7415 of 63334.4%★★☆☆☆
202239.2409 of 69441.1%★★☆☆☆
202146.6216 of 50156.9%★★★☆☆
201972.0148 of 69778.8%★★★★☆
201855.0215 of 54060.2%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202659.5384 of 100861.9%★★★☆☆
202531.6737 of 101327.2%★☆☆☆☆
202421.7889 of 102413.2%★☆☆☆☆
202333.5722 of 101328.7%★☆☆☆☆
202243.7567 of 101944.4%★★☆☆☆
202145.0437 of 85448.8%★★☆☆☆
201961.9325 of 97966.8%★★★☆☆
201848.2448 of 83546.3%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202649.1547 of 105948.3%★★☆☆☆
202531.5761 of 109830.7%★★☆☆☆
202424.5855 of 109922.2%★☆☆☆☆
202334.2727 of 109933.8%★★☆☆☆
202246.0561 of 111349.6%★★☆☆☆
202147.9492 of 102552.0%★★★☆☆
201950.4534 of 107550.3%★★★☆☆
201847.9516 of 99948.3%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202654.9406 of 90154.9%★★★☆☆
202528.0780 of 100722.5%★☆☆☆☆
202420.7865 of 100914.3%★☆☆☆☆
202333.3716 of 101129.2%★☆☆☆☆
202262.4371 of 103164.0%★★★☆☆
202150.3456 of 94351.6%★★★☆☆
201951.1523 of 102749.1%★★☆☆☆
201871.3237 of 83371.5%★★★★☆
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)
English Language Learner (2026)86th percentile+33 vs school
Hispanic (2026)70th percentile+17 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)62nd percentile+9 vs school
Female (2026)58th percentile+5 vs school
White (2026)55th percentile~ school
Male (2026)48th percentile-5 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts49%-3 vs state
Science49%~ state avg
Math43%~ state avg

2.3
3 ratings · 2 written reviews
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What people are saying
by a parent
Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Open Quote We have a large family and decided to move to Puyallup based on the great reviews as a district. Our two oldest daughters did not attend Karshner but our two youngest have. I can say this will my our last year here. We have been at the school for many many years and to be honest these last three years have been horrible. The leadership at this school sucks! The kids are afraid to speak in the halls, laugh, or even color. What has happened to this once beautiful family friendly school? I hope it is not a thing of the past. The Principal has much to learn about being family orientated. She micro manages the teachers, staff and kids. I truly wish she would leave. Close Quote


by a parent
Monday, October 24, 2011

Open Quote I have three daughters that went to Karshner Elementary School. All three of my daughters had a good experience there, except for the last couple of years that my youngest daughter went there. The principal there is a real trip, and I for one don't appreciate her at all, thank you. I wish that you could have done better than her. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Karshner Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 405 students attended Karshner Elementary.

Students who attend Karshner Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Aylen Junior High
High : Puyallup High School

Karshner Elementary ranks 534th of 1138 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Karshner Elementary are 38% White, 36% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 7% Asian, 7% African American, 2% Pacific Islander.

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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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