The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Science. The lowest is 13% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Meadow Ridge Elementary School
Meadow Ridge Elementary School serves students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Kent School District. Located in the large and diverse city of Kent, Washington, the school sits within a community that combines significant manufacturing and warehousing—Kent ranks among the top distribution markets in the country—with commuter neighborhoods that feed into the Seattle metro area. The city has three distinct areas: West Hill along Interstate 5, the industrial Valley along the Green River, and the primarily residential East Hill, where the school is situated. Kent’s economy is anchored by employers such as Amazon, Boeing, Blue Origin, and Oberto Sausage, and the city has experienced substantial annexation and warehouse growth in recent years.
Meadow Ridge enrolls a student body that reflects the city’s diversity. Asian students make up roughly a third of the school, White students about a fifth, and Black and Hispanic students each account for just over a sixth. Multracial students and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students make up smaller shares. A substantial majority of students come from families with low incomes, as measured by free- or reduced-price meal eligibility. Data on special education identification and English learner status were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports those populations.
State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show proficiency rates that are well below the typical range for schools in King County. Across tested grades in math and English language arts, the share of students meeting the state standard was modest in each grade. In third-grade math, for instance, about one in six students scored proficient; in fourth-grade math, about one in ten. English language arts results followed a similar pattern, with fifth-grade performance slightly ahead of the lower grades. Science results in fifth grade were also below the county median. Only one year of test data was available, so it is not possible to see whether performance has been trending up or down. When compared to other districts in King County, Meadow Ridge’s overall proficiency index places it in the lowest quarter of the county’s school districts. These are soft numbers, and a parent evaluating the school should consider what academic supports the school offers and how its teaching approach aligns with their child’s needs.
As an elementary school, Meadow Ridge does not have a graduation rate, and no data was available on chronic absenteeism or discipline. The school appears to be a standard elementary without a magnet or charter designation, and no information about specialized programs or course access was provided.
The district context matters for families considering Meadow Ridge. Kent School District has recently experienced significant change. In 2023, voters approved a capital bond that funded a new middle school and safety upgrades across the district, along with a technology levy and an enrichment levy that support classroom devices and extracurriculars. At the same time, the school board voted in 2024 to close two elementary schools for the 2025-26 school year in response to a budget shortfall driven by declining enrollment and the end of COVID relief funding. Those closures may shift attendance boundaries and feeder patterns for some families in the district. The district also moved to standards-based grading for elementary schools starting in the 2023-24 school year, changing how student progress is reported to families.
Housing in the area carries a price just above the national benchmark for home values, though slightly below the Washington state average. Rents have been rising, and the home-price-to-income ratio is high, reflecting the broader King County market.
Meadow Ridge Elementary is a neighborhood school serving a diverse, lower-income student population in a growing part of the Seattle metro. Its state assessment results are low relative to other schools in the county, and a family considering the school would want to understand what interventions, enrichment, and support structures are in place. The district’s recent investments in facilities and technology and its adoption of standards-based grading represent concrete changes that affect the elementary experience, while the closure of two nearby elementaries may alter the landscape in the coming years.
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