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Whittier Elementary School

Q: Is Whittier Elementary School a good school?

Whittier Elementary School ranks 125 th of 1160 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

125^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,160 Washington Elementary Schools

Better than 89% of Washington elementary schools

Summary

Whittier Elementary School is a consistently high-performing K-5 public school serving 346 students in Seattle's Ballard/Greenwood area, operating within the highly-ranked Seattle School District No. 1.

The school has a strong, decade-long track record of academic excellence, recently ranking in the top 11% of all Washington elementary schools. It particularly excels in science, where student proficiency far exceeds both district and state averages. Whittier is also notably effective in supporting its special education students, who rank in the 88th percentile statewide. While the most recent state test scores show a slight dip from its typical top-10% position, the school's overall performance remains very strong. An interesting pattern in the data shows that student proficiency rises significantly between third and fourth grade, suggesting effective support systems in the upper elementary years.

Whittier stands out in its neighborhood cluster of high-performing schools, which includes top-ranked institutions like Cascadia Elementary and West Woodland Elementary. It achieves its results with moderate per-student spending compared to some nearby schools with lower performance, such as Viewlands Elementary. The school serves a less economically diverse population than many others in the district, with a very low percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, similar to only a few nearby schools like Greenwood Elementary.

346

Students ?

15.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,228

Per pupil spending ?

8.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

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%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Whittier Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 94th percentile in 2015 → 89th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Washington average (79% vs 48% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 11% of Washington elementary schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school79%

District avg63%

Washington avg48%

125^th of 1,160

Washington public elementary schools ?

Top 11%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From top 6% (2015) to top 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

23^rd of 70Elementary Schools in the Seattle School District No. 1

45^th of 247Seattle 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	88.3	125 of 1160	89.2%	★★★★☆
2024	95.0	51 of 1168	95.6%	★★★★★
2023	94.7	53 of 1169	95.5%	★★★★★
2022	89.7	108 of 1169	90.8%	★★★★★
2021	94.5	62 of 1107	94.4%	★★★★★
2019	80.1	207 of 1130	81.7%	★★★★☆
2018	86.2	121 of 1054	88.5%	★★★★☆
2017	82.4	163 of 1056	84.6%	★★★★☆
2016	90.0	82 of 1053	92.2%	★★★★★
2015	91.8	60 of 1067	94.4%	★★★★★
2013	93.7	16 of 1106	98.6%	★★★★★
2012	93.9	11 of 1097	99.0%	★★★★★
2011	95.0	10 of 1092	99.1%	★★★★★
2010	91.3	49 of 1088	95.5%	★★★★★
2009	92.2	41 of 1072	96.2%	★★★★★
2008	91.4	49 of 1067	95.4%	★★★★★
2007	93.8	31 of 1069	97.1%	★★★★★
2006	91.0	48 of 1051	95.4%	★★★★★
2005	90.4	56 of 1031	94.6%	★★★★★
2004	92.8	36 of 1026	96.5%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	90.4	90 of 1092	91.8%	★★★★★
2024	92.1	69 of 1093	93.7%	★★★★★
2023	94.7	37 of 1094	96.6%	★★★★★
2022	90.7	84 of 1100	92.4%	★★★★★
2021	93.3	65 of 1008	93.6%	★★★★★
2019	74.8	256 of 1068	76.0%	★★★★☆
2018	84.7	124 of 1004	87.6%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	78.6	204 of 1098	81.4%	★★★★☆
2024	93.7	52 of 1099	95.3%	★★★★★
2023	94.2	51 of 1099	95.4%	★★★★★
2022	87.2	125 of 1113	88.8%	★★★★☆
2021	93.8	68 of 1025	93.4%	★★★★★
2019	78.9	204 of 1075	81.0%	★★★★☆
2018	85.9	117 of 999	88.3%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	78.7	43 of 363	88.2%	★★★★☆
2024	80.9	37 of 339	89.1%	★★★★☆
2023	86.4	22 of 308	92.9%	★★★★★
2022	63.4	116 of 478	75.7%	★★★★☆
2019	83.5	52 of 566	90.8%	★★★★★
2018	93.3	24 of 637	96.2%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	86.2	93 of 1007	90.8%	★★★★★
2024	93.5	21 of 1009	97.9%	★★★★★
2023	94.1	20 of 1011	98.0%	★★★★★
2022	87.3	95 of 1031	90.8%	★★★★★
2021	93.9	32 of 943	96.6%	★★★★★
2019	73.6	259 of 1027	74.8%	★★★★☆
2018	77.4	177 of 833	78.8%	★★★★☆

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 (2025)92nd percentile+3 vs school

White (2025)91st percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)88th percentile~ school

Male (2025)81st percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs Washington (2024-2025) ?

Science86%+37 vs state

Math77%+34 vs state

English Language Arts74%+21 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent on FaceBook
Thursday, March 12, 2015

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

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

Schools Near Whittier Elementary School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				WCAS Science (2025)			SBAC English Language Arts (2025)							SBAC Math (2025)							% 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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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
Whittier Elementary School	Public	K-5	1320 NW 75 St	Seattle	98117	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-1650	346	22	15.8	8.7%	251 (72.5%)	7 (2.0%)	25 (7.2%)	21 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	41 (11.8%)	88.3	125^th of 1160 public elementary schools	89.2%		95	51^st of 1168 public elementary schools	95.6%	74	86.4		86.4	54.7	81.0	88.1				74.0	60.7	89.7	81.4				77.0	96.4	96.4	96.4	96.4	96.4	96.4	100.0	96.4	96.4	96.4	$22,228	$904	$21,323
Salmon Bay K-8 School	Public	K-8	1810 NW 65 St	Seattle	98117	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-1720	595	36	16.6	11.1%	422 (70.9%)	10 (1.7%)	25 (4.2%)	37 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	84 (14.1%)	84.6	170^th of 1160 public elementary schools	85.3%		89.7	114^th of 1168 public elementary schools	90.2%	56	80.9	81.0	81.0	55.3	80.9	70.5	77.3	80.5	80.2	75.8	59.6	76.6	53.2	81.3	70.1	55.7	67.0	93.3	97.8	95.6	95.6	95.6	97.8	95.6	95.6	97.8	97.8	$20,636	$822	$19,813
Greenwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	144 NW 80 St	Seattle	98117	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-1400	339	21	16.3	10.3%	237 (69.9%)	15 (4.4%)	25 (7.4%)	24 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	32 (9.4%)	96.1	32^nd of 1160 public elementary schools	97.2%		94.9	52^nd of 1168 public elementary schools	95.5%	20	90.2		90.2	84.3	92.2	90.2				88.8	82.4	92.2	63.4				80.4	93.2	94.9	94.9	94.9	94.9	94.9	98.3	94.9	94.9	94.9	$21,524	$1,014	$20,510
Loyal Heights Elementary School	Public	K-5	520 NE Ravenna Blvd	Seattle	98115	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-1500	527	35	15.1	11.4%	387 (73.4%)	3 (0.6%)	37 (7.0%)	28 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (13.1%)	87.3	138^th of 1160 public elementary schools	88.1%		92.7	77^th of 1168 public elementary schools	93.4%	61	68.1		68.1	75.0	76.3	75.0				75.5	79.6	71.7	55.6				69.8	91.2	96.1	93.1	93.1	93.1	97.1	96.1	91.2	97.1	97.1	$22,426	$777	$21,650
North Beach Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	9018 24 Av NW	Seattle	98117	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-1510	344	24	14.4	14.0%	235 (68.3%)	11 (3.2%)	32 (9.3%)	16 (4.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (13.4%)	89	119^th of 1160 public elementary schools	89.7%		89	123^rd of 1168 public elementary schools	89.5%	4	76.2		76.2	66.1	81.6	69.1				71.9	75.8	83.7	63.4				75.0	98.2	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	98.2	100.0	100.0	100.0	$23,056	$765	$22,291
West Woodland Elementary School	Public	K-5	5601 4 Av NW	Seattle	98107	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-1600	355	23	15.6	8.5%	245 (69.0%)	5 (1.4%)	24 (6.8%)	27 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	51 (14.4%)	96.3	29^th of 1160 public elementary schools	97.5%		95.6	40^th of 1168 public elementary schools	96.6%	11	80.7		80.7	89.4	87.1	83.9				86.8	91.0	85.7	70.5				82.7	93.1	98.3	96.6	96.6	96.6	96.6	96.6	96.6	94.8	96.6	$22,206	$886	$21,320
Adams Elementary School	Public	K-5	6110 28 Av NW	Seattle	98107	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-1300	285	18	16.0	18.6%	194 (68.1%)	14 (4.9%)	32 (11.2%)	9 (3.2%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	31 (10.9%)	92.7	75^th of 1160 public elementary schools	93.5%		96.2	35^th of 1168 public elementary schools	97.0%	40	79.3		79.3	71.4	79.6	83.0				77.8	76.8	74.4	73.1				74.8	97.9	97.9	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	97.9	100.0	100.0	100.0	$20,605	$1,001	$19,605
Licton Springs K-8	Public	PK, KG-8	3015 NW 68th St.	Seattle	98117	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(206) 743-3700	90	12	7.3	34.4%	36 (40.0%)	11 (12.2%)	17 (18.9%)	6 (6.7%)	3 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (16.7%)								(n/a)								55.6		29.7					60.0		34.2	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	$36,876	$1,385	$35,490
Daniel Bagley Elementary School	Public	K-5	7821 Stone Av N	Seattle	98103	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-5110	337	23	14.9	25.5%	192 (57.0%)	20 (5.9%)	59 (17.5%)	21 (6.2%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	40 (11.9%)	91.5	92^nd of 1160 public elementary schools	92.1%		84.7	165^th of 1168 public elementary schools	85.9%	73	72.3		72.3	70.2	82.9	81.3				78.1	76.6	72.2	75.4				75.0	89.8	89.8	89.8	89.8	89.8	89.8	93.9	89.8	89.8	89.8	$23,787	$975	$22,812
Viewlands Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	10525 3 Av NW	Seattle	98177	King County	Seattle School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(206) 252-4400	290	16	17.7	42.1%	129 (44.5%)	36 (12.4%)	61 (21.0%)	20 (6.9%)	2 (0.7%)	2 (0.7%)	38 (13.1%)	70.1	311^th of 1160 public elementary schools	73.2%		79.6	225^th of 1168 public elementary schools	80.7%	86	61.3		61.3	53.7	62.8	56.3				57.8	53.9	74.4	59.4				63.2	85.4	87.5	91.7	91.7	91.7	89.6	93.8	87.5	89.6	89.6	$25,414	$1,895	$23,519

Frequently Asked Questions about Whittier Elementary School

What district is Whittier Elementary School in?

Seattle School District No. 1

What is the racial makeup of Whittier Elementary School?

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

Is Whittier Elementary School a good school?

Whittier Elementary School ranks 125^th of 1160 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Whittier Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Whitman Middle School
High : Ballard High School

How many students attend Whittier Elementary School?

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

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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.