Marvista Elementary, Normandy Park WA

Original Research by School Decision on Marvista Elementary

Marvista Elementary is a regular public school in Normandy Park serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Highline School District. The school is a regular neighborhood elementary, not a charter or magnet. The data available paints a clear picture of a mid-sized elementary with mixed academic results within a district undergoing notable facilities changes.

Normandy Park itself is a residential community, almost entirely single-family homes on large, wooded lots with no commercial downtown. The city was originally platted in the 1920s as a planned community, and its strict building codes have preserved a low-density, scenic character. There are no major employers within the city; most residents commute to jobs elsewhere in the King County region. The community is defined by its extensive park system, including Marvista Park which serves as a central gathering space for events like summer concerts. The housing market in the area carries a high value, among the highest in the county, and the city’s growth trajectory is stable and preservation-oriented rather than expansionist.

Marvista Elementary enrolls students from the area. The student body is diverse, with a substantial share identifying as white, and meaningful representation of students who are Hispanic, Black, two or more races, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Just over two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a metric that suggests a mix of economic backgrounds. Data on students receiving special education services or English learner support was not available.

On state assessments administered in 2024-25, Marvista’s performance was mixed across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, proficiency rates were above half in grades three, four, and five. In math, proficiency rates were roughly half or just below half in grade three, and declined to around half in grade four and under half in grade five. In science, only one grade level was tested, fifth grade, where a comparable share of students met proficiency. These results placed the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades above the midpoint relative to districts in King County, though notably below the highest-performing schools in the county.

This is a single-year snapshot, so no trend direction is available. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was also missing.

At the district level, Highline Public Schools is in the middle of a multi-year school modernization program. This includes relocating and rebuilding schools, such as Pacific Middle School, which is currently at an interim site, and launching new choice schools like Maritime High School and Innovation Heights Academy. These projects are reshaping school options and feeder patterns across the district, a change current or incoming families will want to track. The district offers a growing portfolio of choice schools beyond the traditional neighborhood assignment, so families zoned for Marvista may also consider other district options for later grades.

A parent considering Marvista should weigh the mixed academic results in the available snapshot. The school is a stable neighborhood elementary in an affluent, low-density community with strong housing costs and a parks-oriented civic life. The district context is dynamic, with construction and new school choices underway that could affect future attendance boundaries and program availability.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 37% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 28% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 50% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 33% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 29% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 34% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 34% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 3 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-income37%Higher-income69%32 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income68%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income49%Higher-income63%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income70%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income43%Higher-income66%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income56%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income57%26 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income27%Higher-income54%28 pp gap