The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in English language arts. The lowest is 58% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Maltby Elementary
Maltby Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade and situated within the Monroe School District, though its mailing address places it in Snohomish. The school’s enrollment is modest for an elementary, drawing from a pocket of the county that is set apart from the density of Snohomish County’s larger cities. Snohomish itself is a small historic river town with a compact downtown of antique shops, cafes, and redbrick streets, a character that extends into the residential neighborhoods around it. The city has grown only modestly in recent years, and its historic preservation rules guide development in the core, meaning the area around Maltby Elementary is unlikely to experience rapid transformation.
Academically, Maltby Elementary performs well relative to other districts in Snohomish County. On the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments, the school’s combined proficiency across math, English language arts, and science places it in the top quartile when compared to all districts in the county. This is a strong showing for a school of its size. In English language arts, proficiency rates climb from grade to grade, with the highest results in fifth grade, where roughly three-quarters of students meet the bar. Science results, tested only in fifth grade, are also solid. Math proficiency is more moderate: around three-fifths of students score proficient across the grade levels. There is no historical trend data available beyond a single year, so a parent cannot see whether these scores represent an improvement or a plateau.
The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and a very small share of students from other racial backgrounds. About one-quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of economic need that is lower than the statewide average for public schools. The school does not report data on students with disabilities or English learners, so it is not possible to know how special education or language support resources are allocated.
Because Maltby Elementary serves only kindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school has no chronic absenteeism data in the available record. Those metrics simply do not apply at this grade band. Similarly, there is no information on discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access, though for an elementary school that is not unusual.
The housing market in the area is expensive. Home values in the zip code that includes Maltby Elementary are well above the state median, and they have dipped slightly over the past year. Mortgage rates nationally have hovered in the mid-six-percent range, further pressuring affordability. Rent is high, and buying a home costs considerably more per month than renting. For families considering moving into the attendance zone, the cost of housing is a real constraint.
The district brief found little of lasting impact to report from recent years. No major bond, levy, curriculum change, or boundary shift surfaced in the search. That may mean the district has been stable, or simply that the publicly available record is thin. Either way, a parent should not assume any recent disruption.
The school offers no unusual programmatic features in the available data. There is no designation as a magnet, charter, or Title I school. The academic profile is straightforward: a regular elementary school with above-average test scores, a relatively low share of students experiencing economic disadvantage, and a student population that is not highly diverse. The strength is in the results. The limitation is the absence of additional detail about classroom support, enrichment, or special education. A parent who wants a clear picture of how the school serves children with learning differences or advanced learners would need to ask directly. The school fits a family that values solid, consistent academic performance in a small-school setting and can manage the high cost of local housing.
See more original research from School Decision →