Boze Elementary School, Tacoma WA

Original Research by School Decision on Boze Elementary School

Boze Elementary School sits in the Eastside neighborhood of Tacoma, a mid-sized port city that blends working waterfront, industrial port, and residential districts. The school is part of Tacoma Public Schools and serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school.

The student body is diverse. More than a third of students are Hispanic, and the rest are spread across Black, White, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which places the school in a higher-need context.

State testing data from the most recent year shows that proficiency rates vary by grade and subject. In third-grade math and English language arts, fewer than three in ten students met the state standard. Fourth-grade math also showed a low proficiency rate, while fourth-grade ELA remained similar. Fifth grade was a brighter spot: proficiency in math reached a moderate level, and ELA proficiency was close to the midpoint. On the fifth-grade science assessment, about half of students met the standard. Overall, when combining all tested grades and subjects, the school's proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile among districts in Pierce County. Only one year of data is available, so no trend can be discussed.

As an elementary-only school, there is no graduation rate to report. The school also lacks public data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas. Special populations such as students with individualized education programs or English learners are not reported in the available data, though given the school’s size and demographic profile, these populations likely exist.

The housing context in the surrounding zip code shows home values that are lower than the statewide median and rents that are somewhat more affordable relative to the county. The area has seen a modest decline in home values recently, while rents have crept up slightly. The school’s location in Tacoma means families have access to the city’s museums, parks, and transit, though much of the city is car-dependent.

Boze Elementary does not appear to have specialized programs like magnet or charter status. No program offerings are listed in the data. The school’s academic performance, based on the single year available, is below the midpoint when compared with other schools in the county. For families weighing this school, a direct conversation with the principal about academic support, enrichment, and how the school addresses students’ varied needs would be a reasonable next step. The absence of trend data and several operational metrics means that a visit and a conversation would be especially valuable.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 42% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 33% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 37% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 18% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 46% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 25% · ▲ 22 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 49% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolTacoma 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-income18%Higher-income36%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income21%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income54%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income18%Higher-income41%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income42%2 pp gap