Bow Lake Elementary, Seatac WA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Bow Lake Elementary

Bow Lake Elementary sits in SeaTac, a city shaped by the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that lies within its borders. The school serves students from preschool through fifth grade and is part of the Highline Public Schools district. SeaTac itself is a mix of airport-related commercial uses, hotel corridors, and residential neighborhoods like Bow Lake, Angle Lake, McMicken Heights, and Riverton Heights. It lacks a traditional downtown, though the city is pushing for mixed-use development around its three light rail stations. Housing in the area is renter-majority, and the city has seen steady population growth in recent years.

The student body at Bow Lake Elementary is diverse. The largest demographic groups are Black students, Hispanic students, and Asian students, with smaller shares of students who are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, white, or of two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a student population with significant economic need. Data on the share of students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data reviewed.

State testing results for the 2024-25 school year show that proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science placed Bow Lake Elementary in the bottom quartile relative to districts in King County. In math, proficiency was reported for third, fourth, and fifth graders, with rates that were modest, particularly by fifth grade. In English language arts, proficiency rates were also modest. Science, tested only in fifth grade, had a similarly low proficiency rate. Because only a single year of data was available in the data reviewed, it is not possible to compare performance trends over time. A parent may want to ask the school about the supports being provided to raise student achievement and whether there have been any recent changes in instruction or curriculum that could affect future results.

Bow Lake serves a grade band that ends at fifth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report.

The school building is a regular public elementary school, not a magnet or charter. No information was provided on course offerings, discipline rates, or staffing ratios, so those areas could not be described. The Highline district, which operates Bow Lake, has several ongoing changes relevant to current and future families. The district is in the middle of a multi-year school modernization program that includes rebuilding and relocating some schools, and Pacific Middle School is currently at an interim site. This matters for Bow Lake families because the middle school feeding pattern may be affected. The district has also expanded its choice school options in recent years, including the launch of Innovation Heights Academy and Maritime High School, giving families more specialized secondary pathways beyond their neighborhood attendance zone. Families considering Bow Lake may want to explore how these district changes affect the schools their children will attend after fifth grade.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 37% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 28% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 50% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 33% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 29% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 34% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 34% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

This schoolHighline School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income13%Higher-income28%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income31%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income39%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income20%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income33%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income29%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income31%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income40%0 pp gap