Benjamin Rush Elementary, Redmond WA

Original Research by School Decision on Benjamin Rush Elementary

Benjamin Rush Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Redmond, part of the Lake Washington School District. It is a regular public school in a city known as a major technology hub, home to Microsoft and Nintendo of America, with a mix of dense urban centers and residential neighborhoods.

The school’s enrollment is large for an elementary school. The student body is overwhelmingly Asian, with white students making up the next largest share, followed by smaller numbers of Hispanic, two-or-more-races, and Black students. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, which a parent may want to ask the school about directly.

State testing results from the most recent school year show strong academic performance across the board. In English language arts, proficiency rates were solid across grades three, four, and five, with the highest rate in fifth grade. Math proficiency was also strong, with the highest rate in third grade and declining slightly by fifth grade. Science results for fifth graders, the only tested grade for that subject, were similarly strong. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it among the top quarter of elementary schools relative to districts in King County. These are strong results, putting the school in a high-achieving tier within a county that includes many well-regarded districts.

The school’s community context is shaped by Redmond’s rapid growth and tech-driven economy. Housing values and rents in the area are high, well above state and national benchmarks, reflecting the city’s desirability and the wealth of its employment base. The city has seen significant densification in its downtown and Overlake neighborhoods, and new light rail service now connects Redmond to Bellevue and Seattle, improving transit options for families. The neighborhood of Education Hill, named for the schools clustered there, is a predominantly residential area north of downtown.

Benjamin Rush Elementary does not offer programs beyond the regular elementary curriculum—there are no magnet or special program designations reported. As an elementary school, it does not have a graduation rate or secondary-level academic pathways such as Advanced Placement or career and technical education courses. That is typical for schools serving only the early grades.

For a family considering this school, the picture is of a high-performing elementary in an affluent, fast-growing suburb anchored by the tech industry. The student body reflects the area’s demographic composition, with a very low share of students facing economic disadvantage. The academic results are well above what most schools in the county deliver, though they represent a single year of data with no prior trend available for comparison. A parent would be enrolling in a school that sits in one of the state’s highest-cost housing markets, served by a district that did not appear to have any major recent changes publicly reported. The school’s size is notable for an elementary—parents with children who prefer smaller settings may want to visit and see how the school manages daily life at that enrollment level.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 383%

School 83% · District 77% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 78% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 78% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 59% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 480%

School 80% · District 79% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 44% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Science

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 22% · ▲ 56 pts above district

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

This schoolLake Washington 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 4Lower-income40%Higher-income85%45 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income86%59 pp gap