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Whittier Elementary School

Public Grades K-5
77th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 93% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

Whittier Elementary School is a public K–5 school serving 346 students in north Seattle’s highly competitive elementary-school area within Seattle School District No. 1.

Whittier is a strong academic school, ranking 77th out of 1,138 Washington schools for 2025–26, in the 93rd percentile statewide. Its all-grade proficiency rates were 75.72% in English language arts and 75.14% in math, well above district rates of 68.13% and 60.24% and state rates of 52.81% and 43.11%. Math is a particular strength: Whittier’s 73.68% fifth-grade math proficiency was more than 16 percentage points above the district’s rate for that grade. Science results were also strong in earlier years, including 86.44% in 2024–25, but the 2025–26 school result is suppressed and therefore unavailable. The school’s 15.8 student-teacher ratio is competitive, and its $22,228 per-student spending is higher than some nearby schools but lower than others.

Whittier performs especially well within a neighborhood filled with high-achieving schools. It trails the exceptional results of West Woodland Elementary School and Greenwood Elementary School, but is competitive with Adams Elementary School, North Beach Elementary School, Loyal Heights Elementary School, and Salmon Bay K-8 School, particularly in math. Results have softened from the 2023–24 peak, but remain strong, and the school’s ranking improved from 125th in 2024–25 to 77th in 2025–26. Current data for Cascadia Elementary are incomplete, while Viewlands Elementary School and Licton Springs K-8 report lower proficiency rates.

346
Students ?
15.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
$22,228
Per pupil spending ?
8.7%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
 1320 NW 75 St
       Seattle, WA  98117-5318

(206) 252-1650

District: Seattle School District No. 1


Students who attend Whittier Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Whitman Middle School
High:    Ballard High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
72.5%
Two or more races:
11.8%
Hispanic:
7.2%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare Whittier Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 92nd percentile in 2016 → 93rd in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Washington average (75% vs 48% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 7% of Washington elementary schools
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Seattle School District No. 1
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school75%
District avg64%
Washington avg48%
77th of 1,138
Washington public elementary schools ?
Top 7%▲ up 1 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
13th of 68Elementary Schools in the Seattle School District No. 1
45th of 238Seattle School District No. 1 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
202693.177 of 113893.2%★★★★★
202588.3125 of 116089.2%★★★★☆
202495.051 of 116895.6%★★★★★
202394.753 of 116995.5%★★★★★
202289.7108 of 116990.8%★★★★★
202194.562 of 110794.4%★★★★★
201980.1207 of 113081.7%★★★★☆
201886.2121 of 105488.5%★★★★☆
201782.4163 of 105684.6%★★★★☆
201690.082 of 105392.2%★★★★★
201591.860 of 106794.4%★★★★★
201393.716 of 110698.6%★★★★★
201293.911 of 109799.0%★★★★★
201195.010 of 109299.1%★★★★★
201091.349 of 108895.5%★★★★★
200992.241 of 107296.2%★★★★★
200891.449 of 106795.4%★★★★★
200793.831 of 106997.1%★★★★★
200691.048 of 105195.4%★★★★★
200590.456 of 103194.6%★★★★★
200492.836 of 102696.5%★★★★★

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202694.840 of 102096.1%★★★★★
202590.490 of 109291.8%★★★★★
202492.169 of 109393.7%★★★★★
202394.737 of 109496.6%★★★★★
202290.784 of 110092.4%★★★★★
202193.365 of 100893.6%★★★★★
201974.8256 of 106876.0%★★★★☆
201884.7124 of 100487.6%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202687.8120 of 105988.7%★★★★☆
202578.6204 of 109881.4%★★★★☆
202493.752 of 109995.3%★★★★★
202394.251 of 109995.4%★★★★★
202287.2125 of 111388.8%★★★★☆
202193.868 of 102593.4%★★★★★
201978.9204 of 107581.0%★★★★☆
201885.9117 of 99988.3%★★★★☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202670.180 of 43281.5%★★★★☆
202578.743 of 36388.2%★★★★☆
202480.937 of 33989.1%★★★★☆
202386.422 of 30892.9%★★★★★
202263.4116 of 47875.7%★★★★☆
201983.552 of 56690.8%★★★★★
201893.324 of 63796.2%★★★★★

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202691.637 of 90195.9%★★★★★
202586.293 of 100790.8%★★★★★
202493.521 of 100997.9%★★★★★
202394.120 of 101198.0%★★★★★
202287.395 of 103190.8%★★★★★
202193.932 of 94396.6%★★★★★
201973.6259 of 102774.8%★★★★☆
201877.4177 of 83378.8%★★★★☆
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)
Female (2026)96th percentile+3 vs school
White (2026)96th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2026)89th percentile-5 vs school
Special Education (2026)81st percentile-12 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts76%+23 vs state
Math75%+32 vs state

3.0
2 ratings · 2 written reviews
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What people are saying
by a parent on FaceBook
Thursday, March 12, 2015

Open Quote Whittier Elementary is simply an outstanding school. My son has attended for all 6 years of his elementary school education, and without a doubt his experience has been overwhelmingly positive. The parents are actively involved with the school; school test scores are way above both the state and district averages; the teachers are top-notch; and the administration is outstanding. My son is not in the Spectrum program -- just the general education population. I agree with the previous commentary that if you're interested in getting your child into Spectrum, it's very difficult past Kindergarten. However, if you're interested in excellent general education instruction, you simply cannot find a better combination of attributes in a public elementary school than Whittier. Now, if you're only interested in comparisons to a private school education, or to the APP program, you may be disappointed. However, those kind of comparisons are asinine. Close Quote


by a parent
Thursday, January 22, 2015

Open Quote I attended UW's MIT program and interned in a number of SPS elementary schools over the course of '05-'08, which set my high expectations for public schools. The test scores and demographics online make Whittier look like a great school. Unfortunately, Whittier has been nothing but a disappointment since our arrival: terrible for new families not entering through kindergarten--little orientation or effort made to properly place students in leveled programs; the school had a high turnover of principals in the last 5+ years, over which time the parents and PTA gained too much power in the school and the teaching staff became dysfunctional and feudal, per the current principal; veteran families are better equipped to navigate the strong vs. weak teachers; and most glaringly: the school tracks the kids at the end of kinder with no hope of movement up or down (assessment and teacher recommendation dictate initial groupings, but then the kids are stuck. No kids move down to avoid parental upset, which means no kids can move up. New kids are just plopped in groups with minimal data and then stuck.); the Spectrum students and local affluence are what inflate the scores for this school. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Whittier Elementary School

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

Middle : Whitman Middle School
High : Ballard High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 346 students attended Whittier Elementary School.

Students at Whittier Elementary School are 73% White, 12% Two or more races, 7% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 2% African American.

Yes. Whittier Elementary School ranks in the top 6.8% 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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