Original Research by School Decision on Pasco Senior High School
Pasco Senior High School sits within the Pasco School District and serves students in grades nine through twelve as a regular public high school. The school’s enrollment is large, reflecting its role as one of the district’s traditional comprehensive high schools, even as the district has opened a third comprehensive high school for the 2025-26 school year to alleviate overcrowding elsewhere. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with white students and those identifying as two or more races making up much smaller shares. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners were not available in the source material; a parent may want to follow up with the school for this information.
State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year provide a single snapshot. Proficiency in English language arts was reported at just above two-fifths of students. Science proficiency was reported at roughly one-third of students. Math proficiency was reported at about one-tenth. These are recent figures with no prior-year comparison available in the data. Graduation rate data was also not presented. With state testing results showing a single year and no graduation rate on file, the picture of academic outcomes at Pasco Senior High is incomplete. A family would want to ask the school directly about graduation rates, year-over-year trends, and what supports are in place to move proficiency higher, especially in math.
The school operates in a community context shaped by rapid growth. Pasco is one of the fastest-growing cities in Washington, with population increases concentrated in West Pasco, where new housing tracts and shopping centers have expanded significantly. The city remains an agricultural and industrial hub, anchored by large food processors like Lamb Weston and Reser's Fine Foods, as well as the BNSF Railway yard. The broader Tri-Cities economy also includes the Hanford nuclear site and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Housing values in the area sit below the state benchmark, and rents have been rising. A family considering a move here would find a city where new residential development is active and the school district is expanding to keep pace.
The district has been busy responding to growth. Voters approved a bond measure in early 2023 that funded a third comprehensive high school, Sageview High School, which opened for the 2025-26 school year. That same bond financed a career and college center called Orion High School, also planned to open that year, expanding career and technical education options. The district also launched a Digital Learning Academy in 2023, consolidating multiple online programs into one remote learning option. In early 2024, the district purchased land near the new high school site for a future elementary or middle school. These developments signal a system under pressure to add capacity and diversify its program offerings.
Pasco Senior High School sits within a district that is investing heavily in new facilities and alternative pathways. The school’s own profile, however, shows a large, predominantly low-income student population and academic proficiency rates that, based on the single year of data available, are below what many families would look for. The lack of graduation rate data and trend lines leaves a gap. The school occupies a central place in a fast-changing community, and a parent considering it should seek current information on academic trajectory, student supports, and how the new high school opening may affect attendance boundaries and resource allocation at Pasco Senior.
See more original research from School Decision →