Carriage Crest Elementary School, Renton WA

Original Research by School Decision on Carriage Crest Elementary School

Carriage Crest Elementary is a regular public school in the Renton area serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Kent School District, one of the larger districts in King County. The school has a moderately sized enrollment for an elementary school, with a student body that is racially and economically diverse. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

The student population is composed of a substantial share of Asian students, followed by White students, and then smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and Black students. This mix gives the school a noticeably diverse peer environment, though no single group dominates the enrollment to an extreme degree.

The Kent School District has seen some recent changes that affect Carriage Crest families. Voters approved a capital bond in 2023 that funded a new middle school and safety upgrades across the district. That same year, voters also passed a technology levy and an enrichment levy, providing ongoing local funding for classroom devices and extracurricular programs. In 2024, the school board voted to close two elementary schools for the 2025-2026 school year due to a budget shortfall caused by declining enrollment and the end of COVID relief funds, which may shift attendance boundaries for some families. The district also moved to standards-based grading for elementary schools starting in the 2023-2024 school year, changing how progress is reported.

On state assessments for the most recent school year, Carriage Crest’s results show a mixed picture that deserves a close look from any parent. In English language arts, a wide gap appears across grade levels. Performance in fifth grade was strong, reaching a level that suggests most students are on track, while performance in third grade was considerably lower, with fewer than half of students meeting the bar. Fourth grade fell in between. In math, the pattern was steadier, with a clear upward trend from third to fifth grade. A modest share of third graders met proficiency in math, and the rate improved through fourth and fifth grades, though it never reached the highest tier. In science, which is tested only in fifth grade, a solid majority of students demonstrated proficiency.

Overall, when compared with other districts in King County, Carriage Crest’s combined proficiency across tested subjects falls below the midpoint of the county’s districts. This is a meaningful benchmark for a family weighing options. The school’s results are uneven across grade levels and subjects, with notably stronger performance in upper elementary reading and a visible soft spot in early elementary reading. A parent moving to the area or choosing a school may want to ask the school directly about reading support for younger students and how the school addresses the gap between third and fifth grade performance.

Renton itself is a substantial suburban city with a strong industrial and manufacturing base, anchored by a major Boeing assembly plant. It also hosts corporate offices for Paccar and Wizards of the Coast, as well as healthcare providers. The city has a redeveloped downtown core with a transit center, a library built over the Cedar River, and a farmers’ market. Much of the city is car-dependent due to its layout around major freeways, though downtown has more walkable street life. Housing values in the area are high, consistent with the broader King County market where a family will pay a significant premium for a home or rent. The local housing market has seen a modest increase in inventory and a slight softening in median prices, but affordability remains a challenge, particularly for renters.

Carriage Crest is a school where a family will find diversity and a community typical of a suburban district with strong local tax support for facilities and technology. The academic data points to strength in upper elementary reading and science, with enough unevenness in early grades and math that a parent will want to understand the school’s approach to intervention before enrolling.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 19% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 43% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 36% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 39% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 42% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 45% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 14% · ▲ 45 pts above district

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

This schoolKent 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-income22%Higher-income41%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income50%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income77%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income55%Higher-income51%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income39%Higher-income43%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income55%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income53%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income40%10 pp gap