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Whitman Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
938th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 18% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

Whitman Elementary School is a public school in Tacoma, Washington, serving 365 students from prekindergarten through Grade 5 in the Tacoma School District. The school serves a relatively high-need community, with 71.23% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Whitman’s latest statewide ranking was 938th out of 1,138 schools, placing it at the 18th percentile—an improvement from the 12th percentile the previous year, but still below most Washington elementary schools.

Whitman’s 2025–26 test results were below district and state averages in every tested subject: 35.71% of students were proficient in English language arts, 25.55% in math, and 30.36% in science. English language arts is the school’s strongest area relative to nearby schools; Whitman ranked roughly fourth among the ten nearby Tacoma elementary schools reviewed. However, math performance was in the lower portion of that group, and science was also weak. The most urgent concern is Grade 5 math, where only 12.73% of students were proficient, compared with 33.10% in the district and 43.32% statewide. Science also warrants attention, with Whitman’s result far behind the district and state.

The latest results offer a mixed picture: ELA improved by 7.25 percentage points and math by 2.29 points, while science fell by 14.80 points. Nearby schools show that stronger outcomes are possible in communities with similar economic conditions. Mann Elementary School and Lyon Elementary School notably outperformed Whitman in all three subjects, especially science, where both exceeded 63%. Impact Public Schools also posted stronger results, though its smaller size, different district structure, and charter-school model make it a less direct comparison. Whitman’s student-teacher ratio and per-student spending are not especially unfavorable, suggesting that instructional consistency, science teaching, Grade 5 math support, attendance, and intervention systems may be more important improvement areas than resources alone.

365
Students ?
16.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$23,334
Per pupil spending ?
71.2%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
 1120 S 39th St
       Tacoma, WA  98408

(253) 571-7272

District: Tacoma School District


Students who attend Whitman Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Angelo Giaudrone Middle School
High:    Lincoln High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
27.4%
White:
24.7%
Two or more races:
19.5%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare Whitman Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 7th percentile in 2016 → 18th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 11 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Washington average (31% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)
!Science scores 21 pts below the Washington average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school31%
District avg38%
Washington avg48%
938th of 1,138
Washington public elementary schools ?
Bottom 18%▲ up 10 pts since 2016
From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 18% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
23rd of 34Elementary Schools in the Tacoma School District
151st 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202618.0938 of 113817.6%★☆☆☆☆
202515.11023 of 116011.8%★☆☆☆☆
202422.6933 of 116820.1%★☆☆☆☆
202322.2945 of 116919.2%★☆☆☆☆
202221.6947 of 116919.0%★☆☆☆☆
202110.31035 of 11076.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201925.4888 of 113021.4%★☆☆☆☆
201817.2909 of 105413.8%★☆☆☆☆
201720.0875 of 105617.1%★☆☆☆☆
201611.7976 of 10537.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201511.9984 of 10677.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201310.11057 of 11064.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201213.71009 of 10978.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201111.91024 of 10926.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201019.6950 of 108812.7%★☆☆☆☆
200921.5899 of 107216.1%★☆☆☆☆
200829.5815 of 106723.6%★☆☆☆☆
200732.8773 of 106927.7%★☆☆☆☆
200622.2888 of 105115.5%★☆☆☆☆
200542.5642 of 103137.7%★★☆☆☆
200427.3799 of 102622.1%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
201835.580 of 10725.2%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202625.7795 of 102022.1%★☆☆☆☆
202514.2988 of 10929.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202421.8881 of 109319.4%★☆☆☆☆
202323.9858 of 109421.6%★☆☆☆☆
202225.7846 of 110023.1%★☆☆☆☆
201924.2865 of 106819.0%★☆☆☆☆
201821.9822 of 100418.1%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202638.8429 of 64933.9%★★☆☆☆
202362.4193 of 63369.5%★★★☆☆
201847.0270 of 54050.0%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202623.2852 of 100815.5%★☆☆☆☆
202517.2909 of 101310.3%★☆☆☆☆
202422.1883 of 102413.8%★☆☆☆☆
202325.0836 of 101317.5%★☆☆☆☆
202233.3724 of 101928.9%★☆☆☆☆
201937.9654 of 97933.2%★★☆☆☆
201823.6712 of 83514.7%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202623.4862 of 105918.6%★☆☆☆☆
202521.0903 of 109817.8%★☆☆☆☆
202425.7835 of 109924.0%★☆☆☆☆
202329.9784 of 109928.7%★☆☆☆☆
202218.4953 of 111314.4%★☆☆☆☆
201930.6779 of 107527.5%★☆☆☆☆
201814.8904 of 9999.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202420.9168 of 18810.6%★☆☆☆☆
202310.6191 of 1941.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202229.8188 of 25225.4%★☆☆☆☆
201927.2244 of 30319.5%★☆☆☆☆
201811.6195 of 2128.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
201822.4533 of 63716.3%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202618.0804 of 90110.8%★☆☆☆☆
202526.3804 of 100720.2%★☆☆☆☆
201939.4687 of 102733.1%★★☆☆☆
201817.5738 of 83311.4%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Hispanic (2026)34th percentile+16 vs school
African American (2018)25th percentile+11 vs school
Female (2026)22nd percentile+4 vs school
Male (2026)19th percentile~ school
Special Education (2018)16th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)15th percentile~ school
White (2026)11th percentile-7 vs school
Multi-racial (2024)11th percentile-9 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts36%-17 vs state
Science30%-21 vs state
Math26%-18 vs state

★
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Schools Near Whitman Elementary School

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Frequently Asked Questions about Whitman Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 365 students attended Whitman Elementary School.

Whitman Elementary School ranks in the bottom 17.6% of Washington elementary schools.

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

Middle : Angelo Giaudrone Middle School
High : Lincoln High School

Students at Whitman Elementary School are 27% Hispanic, 25% White, 19% Two or more races, 16% African American, 6% Asian, 5% 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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