Tacoma School of the Arts

Summary:

Tacoma School of the Arts is a public high school serving 624 students in grades 9-12 in Tacoma, Washington, which is part of the Tacoma School District.

Tacoma School of the Arts has a diverse student population, with strong academic performance in English Language Arts (ELA) that outpaces the district and state averages, but lags behind in Math proficiency. The school boasts an impressive 97.8% four-year graduation rate, significantly higher than the district and state. However, nearly half of the students come from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Interestingly, the school performs particularly well for its African American and Hispanic student populations, ranking 10th and 99th out of Washington high schools, respectively, in 2023-2024, despite an overall ranking of 219th out of 437 high schools in the state.

Compared to nearby schools, Tacoma School of the Arts stands out as a strong performer. Lincoln High School, another Tacoma School District high school, has lower overall academic performance, while Stadium High School outperforms Tacoma School of the Arts in both ELA and Math proficiency. In contrast, Tacoma Open Doors, a smaller alternative high school in the district, has significantly lower graduation rates and higher dropout rates compared to Tacoma School of the Arts.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 302 S. Ninth Street
       Tacoma, WA  98402


(253) 571-7900

District: Tacoma School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
219th of 437 Washington High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $18,058 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  20.5 Help
Number of students:  648

Racial breakdown:

White:
43.5%
Hispanic:
21.6%
Two or more races:
16.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  55.1% Help


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 Compare Tacoma School of the Arts to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Tacoma School of the Arts ranks worse than 50.1% of high schools in Washington. It also ranks 4th among 9 ranked high schools in the Tacoma School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 47.95. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Tacoma School of the Arts who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Tacoma School of the Arts is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (43.5%), Hispanic (21.6%), two or more races (16.2%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 55.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Tacoma School of the Arts is 20.5. 9 high schools in the Tacoma School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
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Compare Tacoma School of the Arts employs 31.6 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Tacoma School of the Arts is $18,058, which is the 6th highest among 9 high schools in the Tacoma School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Tacoma School of the Arts:

SchoolDigger ranks Tacoma School of the Arts 219th of 437 Washington public high schools. (See Tacoma School of the Arts in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Tacoma School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Tacoma School District 152nd of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Tacoma School of the Arts?

Rank History for Tacoma School of the Arts

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Rank History for all students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 94.65 9th 390 97.7%
2005 79.65 61st 394 84.5%
2006 67.59 130th 395 67.1%
2007 85.06 30th 399 92.5%
2008 71.75 96th 396 75.8%
2009 80.02 57th 402 85.8%
2010 79.91 62nd 423 85.3%
2011 69.73 68th 440 84.5%
2012 67.17 103rd 450 77.1%
2013 68.28 107th 454 76.4%
2015 56.22 126th 341 63.0%
2016 86.63 23rd 306 92.5%
2017 48.56 178th 301 40.9%
2018 40.58 222nd 315 29.5%
2019 28.66 318th 417 23.7%
2021 45.07 232nd 455 49.0%
2022 30.20 311th 434 28.3%
2023 44.77 246th 442 44.3%
2024 47.95 219th 437 49.9%
See the entire list of Washington High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 25.22 158th 195 19.0%
2022 17.55 158th 179 11.7%
2023 38.51 97th 166 41.6%
2024 63.22 51st 161 68.3%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 51.51 60th 139 56.8%
2021 53.75 70th 212 67.0%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 58.77 96th 227 57.7%
2019 26.67 273rd 344 20.6%
2021 52.77 157th 392 59.9%
2022 31.68 262nd 370 29.2%
2023 44.44 199th 362 45.0%
2024 56.37 137th 356 61.5%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 37.07 180th 243 25.9%
2019 30.17 267th 358 25.4%
2021 44.85 201st 390 48.5%
2022 29.77 270th 368 26.6%
2023 45.52 192nd 357 46.2%
2024 42.60 201st 347 42.1%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 34.95 188th 254 26.0%
2019 12.48 326th 355 8.2%
2021 40.42 229th 395 42.0%
2022 18.96 303rd 363 16.5%
2023 29.08 261st 358 27.1%
2024 53.17 161st 362 55.5%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 64.88 17th 54 68.5%
2019 27.28 69th 86 19.8%
2021 73.59 19th 111 82.9%
2022 25.95 70th 89 21.3%
2023 64.66 23rd 78 70.5%
2024 79.36 10th 70 85.7%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 58.54 58th 156 62.8%
2019 16.14 218th 241 9.5%
2021 56.36 102nd 278 63.3%
2022 45.73 131st 261 49.8%
2023 56.03 92nd 249 63.1%
2024 56.76 99th 248 60.1%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Tacoma School of the Arts

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools WA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 33.39 182nd 222 18.0%
2019 30.14 298th 382 22.0%
2021 54.73 162nd 413 60.8%
2022 28.18 305th 390 21.8%
2023 44.01 218th 379 42.5%
2024 39.94 239th 374 36.1%
See the entire list of Best Washington High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Tacoma School of the Arts Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3)
0%

0%

100%

0%

0%

  

Reviews:
by a student
Saturday, March 6, 2021

Open Quote Things could have changed since I went but it was a lot more clique-y than they said it was. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Tacoma School of the Arts

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2002 209 21 9 10 4 n/a n/a 0 253
2003 209 21 9 10 4 n/a n/a 0 253
2004 276 29 15 13 4 n/a n/a 0 337
2005 273 28 18 19 5 n/a n/a 0 343
2006 306 44 17 18 5 n/a n/a 0 390
2007 340 50 18 20 7 n/a n/a 0 435
2008 334 58 18 17 6 n/a n/a 0 433
2009 355 49 18 19 10 n/a n/a 0 451
2010 347 43 22 18 8 n/a n/a 0 438
2011 353 40 27 16 6 1 11 0 454
2012 364 44 25 22 6 0 22 0 483
2013 368 66 33 34 7 2 1 0 511
2014 346 67 34 55 8 3 2 0 515
2015 327 77 36 68 7 3 3 0 521
2016 349 96 34 75 13 7 5 0 579
2017 356 110 36 90 13 9 15 0 629
2018 337 127 34 81 12 8 19 0 618
2019 320 125 32 80 12 7 32 0 608
2020 307 103 29 88 7 5 65 1 605
2021 301 98 24 108 7 4 73 18 633
2022 279 81 26 117 9 4 87 15 618
2023 281 63 20 124 10 5 104 17 624
2024 282 69 20 140 12 6 105 14 648

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Tacoma School of the Arts

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2002 253 0.0 n/a 13.4
2003 253 0.0 n/a 13.4
2004 337 18.0 18.7 7.7
2005 343 10.3 33.3 7.3
2006 390 18.7 20.9 9.5
2007 435 21.0 20.7 7.8
2008 433 22.5 19.2 10.6
2009 451 22.5 20.0 10.4
2010 438 25.6 17.1 12.1
2011 454 25.0 18.0 11.5
2012 483 25.2 19.1 12.6
2013 511 28.1 18.1 24.9
2014 515 n/a n/a 28.9
2015 521 29.0 17.9 39.2
2016 579 32.0 18.0 39.7
2017 629 32.2 19.5 40.2
2018 618 36.2 17.0 39.2
2019 608 35.7 17.0 39.1
2020 605 35.4 17.0 40.7
2021 633 33.8 18.7 41.2
2022 618 35.0 17.6 33.7
2023 624 34.4 18.1 48.7
2024 648 31.6 20.5 55.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Tacoma School of the Arts

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2002 253 0.0 n/a 13.4
2003 253 0.0 n/a 13.4
2004 337 18.0 18.7 7.7
2005 343 10.3 33.3 7.3
2006 390 18.7 20.9 9.5
2007 435 21.0 20.7 7.8
2008 433 22.5 19.2 10.6
2009 451 22.5 20.0 10.4
2010 438 25.6 17.1 12.1
2011 454 25.0 18.0 11.5
2012 483 25.2 19.1 12.6
2013 511 28.1 18.1 24.9
2014 515 n/a n/a 28.9
2015 521 29.0 17.9 39.2
2016 579 32.0 18.0 39.7
2017 629 32.2 19.5 40.2
2018 618 36.2 17.0 39.2
2019 608 35.7 17.0 39.1
2020 605 35.4 17.0 40.7
2021 633 33.8 18.7 41.2
2022 618 35.0 17.6 33.7
2023 624 34.4 18.1 48.7
2024 648 31.6 20.5 55.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Immunization Rates

Tacoma School of the Arts

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Compare
YearCompletely ImmunizedReligious ExemptionMedical ExemptionPersonal ExemptionPolioDiphtheriaHepatitis BVaricellaMMRPertussis
201994.3%0.0%0.7%4.4%97.1%96.9%97.5%95.4%97.5%96.6%

Data source: Washington State Department of Health
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Tacoma School of the Arts

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $832 (5.4%) $14,504 (94.6%) $15,336
2020 $586 (5.1%) $10,889 (94.9%) $11,475
2021 $993 (6.3%) $14,695 (93.7%) $15,688
2022 $1,658 (9.2%) $16,400 (90.8%) $18,058

Data source: Washington Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Tacoma School of the Arts

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 318th of 417 High schoolsRanks 246th of 442 High schools
 20.6%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
10th Grade English Language Arts (Tacoma School of the Arts)68.376.7
 8.4%
   10th Grade English Language Arts (Tacoma School District)59.260.4
 1.2%
   10th Grade English Language Arts (Washington)72.865.9
 6.9%
10th Grade Math (Tacoma School of the Arts)2013.9
 6.2%
   10th Grade Math (Tacoma School District)29.320.8
 8.5%
   10th Grade Math (Washington)42.433.3
 9.1%
11th Grade Science (Tacoma School of the Arts)33.643.9
 10.3%
   11th Grade Science (Tacoma School District)45.144.7
 0.4%
   11th Grade Science (Washington)5050.5
 0.5%
All Grades English Language Arts (Tacoma School of the Arts)68.376.7
 8.4%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Tacoma School District)53.447.2
 6.2%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Washington)6152.9
 8.1%
All Grades Math (Tacoma School of the Arts)2013.9
 6.2%
   All Grades Math (Tacoma School District)39.430.5
 8.9%
   All Grades Math (Washington)50.141
 9%
All Grades Science (Tacoma School of the Arts)33.643.9
 10.3%
   All Grades Science (Tacoma School District)45.640
 5.6%
   All Grades Science (Washington)52.748.8
 4%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students608624
 2.6%
African American12563
 49.6%
American Indian1210
 16.7%
Asian3220
 37.5%
Hispanic80124
 55%
Pacific Islander75
 28.6%
White320281
 12.2%
Two or More Races32104
 225%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients39.1%48.7%
 9.6%


Schools Near Tacoma School of the Arts









Frequently Asked Questions about Tacoma School of the Arts

Students at Tacoma School of the Arts are 44% White, 22% Hispanic, 16% Two or more races, 11% African American, 3% Asian, 2% Not Specified, 2% American Indian.

In the 2023-24 school year, 648 students attended Tacoma School of the Arts.

Tacoma School of the Arts ranks 219th of 437 Washington high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.


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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.





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