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Birney Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

974^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools

Better than 14% of Washington elementary schools

Summary

Birney Elementary School is a PK–5 school in Tacoma, Washington, serving approximately 476 students in an area where many families face economic challenges. In 2024–25, 71.64% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate similar to nearby schools. Birney is part of the Tacoma School District, which ranks at the 37th percentile statewide. Birney currently ranks at the 14th percentile, or 974th out of 1,138 Washington elementary schools. This is still a low statewide position, but it represents improvement from the 4th percentile in 2020–21 and the 9th percentile in each of the previous two school years.

Academic results remain the main concern. In 2025–26, 30.46% of students were proficient in English Language Arts, 24.37% in math, and 28.57% in science—below both district and Washington averages. Math is Birney’s weakest overall subject, while science declined from 39.68% in 2023–24 to 28.57% currently. Fifth grade stands out as the clearest area for attention: 22.22% were proficient in ELA, 14.29% in math, and 28.57% in science. Results are uneven rather than uniformly weak; for example, fourth-grade math reached 32.35%, and third-grade ELA reached 36.36%. Math improved by four percentage points from the prior year, while ELA was nearly unchanged.

Birney’s reported student-teacher ratio of 14.3-to-1 is the most favorable among the nearby schools listed, and its per-student spending of $23,598 is higher than most local comparisons. However, these resource advantages have not yet produced stronger academic outcomes. Nearby Mann Elementary School, for example, reported 47.47% ELA, 41.40% math, and 63.83% science proficiency, while Edison Elementary School and Fawcett Elementary School also had stronger results in several subjects. The most useful improvement priorities appear to be intensive fifth-grade support, earlier intervention, stronger science instruction, and identifying which classroom practices are driving Birney’s areas of relative strength.

476

Students ?

14.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,598

Per pupil spending ?

71.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

7627 South Sheridan Ave
Tacoma, WA 98408

(253) 571-4600

District: Tacoma School District

Students who attend Birney Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Baker Middle School
High:	Mount Tahoma High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

30.5%

White:

21.4%

Two or more races:

14.3%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 10th percentile in 2016 → 14th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Washington average (28% vs 48% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Science scores 22 pts below the Washington average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school28%

District avg38%

Washington avg48%

974^th of 1,138

Washington public elementary schools ?

Bottom 14%▲ up 4 pts since 2016

From bottom 10% (2016) to bottom 14% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

27^th of 34Elementary Schools in the Tacoma School District

151^st of 238Tacoma 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	14.2	974 of 1138	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	12.9	1050 of 1160	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.1	1066 of 1168	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.2	1073 of 1169	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.2	1008 of 1169	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	8.6	1065 of 1107	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.2	1018 of 1130	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.9	965 of 1054	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	9.8	990 of 1056	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	14.2	943 of 1053	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	16.6	939 of 1067	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	23.6	926 of 1106	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.8	953 of 1097	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	11.1	1030 of 1092	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	24.4	896 of 1088	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	14.2	978 of 1072	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	22.7	892 of 1067	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	42.0	656 of 1069	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	33.0	762 of 1051	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	30.8	756 of 1031	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	38.0	665 of 1026	35.2%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	23.9	70 of 82	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.2	55 of 75	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.2	108 of 110	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	23.1	101 of 107	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	26.7	224 of 303	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.8	185 of 320	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.9	186 of 213	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	17.9	883 of 1020	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.9	980 of 1092	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.9	927 of 1093	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.4	915 of 1094	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.2	921 of 1100	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.3	957 of 1008	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.2	953 of 1068	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.8	844 of 1004	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	21.7	559 of 649	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	34.9	452 of 659	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	23.0	540 of 651	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.4	445 of 694	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.2	417 of 697	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	21.1	482 of 540	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	24.6	837 of 1008	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	16.6	916 of 1013	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	19.1	910 of 1024	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.4	875 of 1013	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.3	832 of 1019	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.4	888 of 979	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.6	765 of 835	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	13.6	976 of 1059	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.6	1035 of 1098	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	1031 of 1099	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.6	1065 of 1099	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.3	967 of 1113	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.9	965 of 1025	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.7	982 of 1075	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.2	951 of 999	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2022	34.7	316 of 478	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.3	526 of 637	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	18.8	798 of 901	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.8	894 of 1007	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.7	949 of 1009	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	30.7	745 of 1011	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.9	789 of 1031	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.1	807 of 943	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.7	904 of 1027	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.7	703 of 833	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2022)34th percentile+20 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)26th percentile+17 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)17th percentile+3 vs school

African American (2026)15th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)14th percentile~ school

Female (2026)13th percentile~ school

White (2026)11th percentile-3 vs school

Male (2026)8th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts30%-22 vs state

Science29%-22 vs state

Math24%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Birney Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				WCAS Science (2026)		SBAC English Language Arts (2026)				SBAC Math (2026)				% 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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WCAS Science 5th 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 All Grades	SBAC Math 3rd Grade	SBAC Math 4th Grade	SBAC Math 5th 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
Birney Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	7627 South Sheridan Ave	Tacoma	98408	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-4600	476	33	14.3	71.6%	102 (21.4%)	59 (12.4%)	145 (30.5%)	60 (12.6%)	5 (1.1%)	37 (7.8%)	68 (14.3%)	14.2	974^th of 1138 public elementary schools	14.4%		12.9	1050^th of 1160 public elementary schools	9.5%	76	28.6	28.6	36.4	32.4	22.2	30.5	25.8	32.4	14.3	24.4	89.7	91.0	91.0	91.0	91.0	91.0	94.9	91.0	91.0	91.0	$23,598	$3,293	$20,305
Fern Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8442 S Park Ave	Tacoma	98444	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-3888	311	17	18.1	71.1%	63 (20.3%)	32 (10.3%)	119 (38.3%)	26 (8.4%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.8%)	50 (16.1%)	25.4	855^th of 1138 public elementary schools	24.9%		40.8	668^th of 1160 public elementary schools	42.4%	187	32.7	32.7	41.3	35.0	35.4	37.3	52.2	32.5	18.4	34.1	91.4	94.3	91.4	91.4	91.4	94.3	100.0	91.4	94.3	94.3	$23,035	$2,656	$20,379
Helen Stafford Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1615 South 92nd St	Tacoma	98444	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-4300	453	24	19.0	74.4%	67 (14.8%)	59 (13.0%)	134 (29.6%)	79 (17.4%)	2 (0.4%)	35 (7.7%)	77 (17.0%)	19.5	915^th of 1138 public elementary schools	19.6%		16.3	1009^th of 1160 public elementary schools	13.0%	94	33.9	33.9	29.2	30.8	38.7	32.7	39.1	29.5	27.4	31.9	84.4	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	$20,167	$1,389	$18,777
Arlington Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	7202 South Pine Street	Tacoma	98409	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-3200	390	23	17.2	75.9%	86 (22.1%)	74 (19.0%)	100 (25.6%)	39 (10.0%)	6 (1.5%)	25 (6.4%)	60 (15.4%)	12.3	1005^th of 1138 public elementary schools	11.7%		10.1	1090^th of 1160 public elementary schools	6.0%	85	23.5	23.5	22.8	45.7	19.2	28.4	26.3	23.9	15.4	21.9	86.4	88.6	90.9	90.9	90.9	88.6	90.9	90.9	88.6	88.6	$21,816	$2,456	$19,360
Larchmont Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8601 E B St	Tacoma	98445	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-6200	303	20	14.9	71.6%	56 (18.5%)	36 (11.9%)	104 (34.3%)	30 (9.9%)	2 (0.7%)	24 (7.9%)	51 (16.8%)	15.7	956^th of 1138 public elementary schools	16.0%		23.2	932^nd of 1160 public elementary schools	19.7%	24	23.4	23.4	33.3	32.4	27.7	30.9	35.9	37.8	14.9	28.5	93.0	95.4	95.4	97.7	97.7	95.4	97.7	93.0	95.4	95.4	$25,507	$3,983	$21,524
Fawcett Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	126 E. 60th Street	Tacoma	98404	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-4700	426	26	16.1	65.3%	129 (30.3%)	36 (8.5%)	108 (25.4%)	39 (9.2%)	6 (1.4%)	22 (5.2%)	86 (20.2%)	23.9	868^th of 1138 public elementary schools	23.7%		21.9	950^th of 1160 public elementary schools	18.1%	82	37.2	37.2	44.8	27.4	33.3	34.9	50.0	18.0	28.6	31.6	98.4	98.4	100.0	100.0	100.0	98.4	100.0	98.4	98.4	98.4	$20,834	$2,100	$18,734
Edison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5830 S Pine St	Tacoma	98409	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-1700	413	26	16.0	70.9%	103 (24.9%)	71 (17.2%)	123 (29.8%)	29 (7.0%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.4%)	76 (18.4%)	30.2	788^th of 1138 public elementary schools	30.8%		27.9	853^rd of 1160 public elementary schools	26.5%	65	44.4	44.4	35.6	32.9	57.4	40.5	34.3	31.5	38.9	34.5	85.2	88.9	92.6	92.6	92.6	87.0	90.7	87.0	87.0	87.0	$21,992	$2,237	$19,755
Mann Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1002 S 52nd St	Tacoma	98408	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-6300	340	19	17.8	66.2%	80 (23.5%)	63 (18.5%)	78 (22.9%)	27 (7.9%)	2 (0.6%)	14 (4.1%)	76 (22.4%)	47.3	581^st of 1138 public elementary schools	48.9%		49.6	562^nd of 1160 public elementary schools	51.6%	19	63.8	63.8	44.8	47.2	51.1	47.5	41.4	50.0	31.9	41.4	90.9	93.2	93.2	93.2	93.2	93.2	90.9	93.2	93.2	93.2	$22,470	$1,862	$20,608
Christensen Elementary	Public	K-5	10232 Barnes Lane S	Tacoma	98444	Pierce County	Franklin Pierce School District	No	No	No	No	(253) 298-3305	346	23	15.0	74.3%	67 (19.4%)	55 (15.9%)	111 (32.1%)	9 (2.6%)	5 (1.4%)	42 (12.1%)	57 (16.5%)	10	1036^th of 1138 public elementary schools	9.0%		29.8	826^th of 1160 public elementary schools	28.8%	210	22.8	22.8	31.4	26.0	38.6	31.5	32.0	27.4	21.1	26.7	87.5	94.6	96.4	96.4	96.4	91.1	96.4	92.9	91.1	91.1	$19,640	$1,042	$18,598
Boze Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1140 E 65th St	Tacoma	98404	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-4105	485	28	17.3	67.6%	47 (9.7%)	50 (10.3%)	182 (37.5%)	67 (13.8%)	4 (0.8%)	43 (8.9%)	92 (19.0%)	20.6	899^th of 1138 public elementary schools	21.0%		22.1	946^th of 1160 public elementary schools	18.4%	47	37.1	37.1	35.4	36.1	44.4	38.6	24.6	26.7	24.2	25.1	93.0	98.6	100.0	100.0	100.0	97.2	100.0	94.4	97.2	97.2	$22,103	$1,607	$20,496

Frequently Asked Questions about Birney Elementary School

What district is Birney Elementary School in?

Tacoma School District

Is Birney Elementary School a good school?

Birney Elementary School ranks in the bottom 14.4% of Washington elementary schools.

How many students attend Birney Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 476 students attended Birney Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Birney Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Baker Middle School
High : Mount Tahoma High School

What is the racial makeup of Birney Elementary School?

Students at Birney Elementary School are 30% Hispanic, 21% White, 14% Two or more races, 13% Asian, 12% African American, 8% Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian.

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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.