Summary:
ZIP code 98397 has one elementary-level school, Elk Plain School of Choice, located in Spanaway and serving students from kindergarten through 8th grade. The school enrolls 574 students and is part of the Bethel School District. Because it includes middle-school grades, its reported results combine elementary and middle-school performance.
Elk Plain is performing above both district and Washington state averages in all three reported subjects. In 2025–2026, 55.98% of students were proficient in English language arts, compared with 49.54% in the district and 52.81% statewide. Math proficiency was 50.00%, exceeding the district by nearly 12 percentage points and the state by almost 7 points. Science was the school’s strongest overall subject, with 60.31% proficiency—about 16 points above the district and 9 points above the state. Results improved from the prior year in every subject, led by a substantial 9.63-point increase in science. The school’s statewide ranking also rose to the 65th percentile, up from the 57th percentile the year before.
For parents, the strongest pattern is in the upper grades. ELA proficiency exceeded 55% in grades 5 through 8, while math performance in grades 6–8 was more than 16 percentage points above the district. Eighth-grade science was an especially strong result, with 63.16% of students proficient. The main area needing attention is fifth-grade math, where 36.36% were proficient, below both district and state results. Third- and fourth-grade ELA and third-grade math were closer to comparison averages. The school has a 17:1 student-teacher ratio, 39.72% of students received free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–2025, and reported per-student spending was $18,221 in 2023–2024.
Thank you for your feedback!