Emerson Elementary, Pasco WA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Emerson Elementary

Emerson Elementary is a regular public school in Pasco, Washington, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade. It belongs to the Pasco School District, a system that has been expanding rapidly to keep pace with one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.

The student body is small for an elementary school, and its composition is distinctive. A large majority of students are from low-income households. The student population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with very small shares of white, Black, Asian, and multiracial students. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, which is a gap a parent may want to follow up on with the school directly.

State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year provide the only academic snapshot available. Across math, English language arts, and science, the share of students meeting proficiency standards is modest at every grade level tested. The school’s overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint relative to other Franklin County districts — in the bottom quarter of that comparison set. Only a single year of data is reported, so there is no trend to examine. Because Emerson serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate.

No information was reported on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing, or course access, so it is not possible to describe those dimensions of the school environment.

Pasco itself is a mixed residential, industrial, and agricultural city within the Tri-Cities region. Major employers include food processors such as Lamb Weston and Reser’s Fine Foods, the BNSF Railway yard, and the Hanford nuclear site. The city has been growing fast, with much of the new housing concentrated in West Pasco. The school district has responded with a bond measure that funded a new high school, which opened recently, and the purchase of land for an additional elementary or middle school. A digital learning academy was also launched, offering an online option. These moves signal continued enrollment pressure and likely future boundary adjustments, which families in the area should be aware of.

Housing values in Pasco’s zip code fall below the statewide median but sit above the national median. Rents have been rising, and the overall cost of homeownership relative to income is high. The area remains car-oriented, though downtown has a farmers market and some riverfront trail access.

For a parent considering Emerson, the core facts are clear. This is a school where economic disadvantage is widespread and where state test results indicate that the majority of students are not yet reaching grade-level benchmarks in reading, math, or science. The surrounding community is growing, and the district is investing in new capacity, but the school’s own support structures — staffing ratios, English learner services, special education resources — are not documented in the available data. A parent may want to visit, talk to the principal, and ask directly about academic intervention efforts and how the school addresses the needs of its student population.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 35% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 27% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 25% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 39%

School 9% · District 31% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 33% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 34% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 30% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

This schoolPasco 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-income21%Higher-income36%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income10%Higher-income27%18 pp gap