Nob Hill Elementary School, Yakima WA

Original Research by School Decision on Nob Hill Elementary School

Nob Hill Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Yakima School District, located in the central part of Yakima. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and White, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The school sits in a city that blends urban civic functions with its identity as a hub for the surrounding agricultural region known for apple, wine, and hop production. Greater Yakima includes unincorporated suburban areas like West Valley and Terrace Heights, and the city has experienced slight population growth in recent years.

Nob Hill is a regular public school, and it is not a charter or magnet school. Academic performance in the 2024-25 school year shows a mixed picture. On the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments, proficiency in English language arts was above half for fifth graders but lower for third and fourth graders. In math, proficiency was near the halfway mark for third graders and notably lower for fourth and fifth graders. For science, tested in fifth grade, just over half of students met the proficiency standard. When measured as a single proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s combined performance sits above the midpoint among districts in Yakima County. The school had only one year of testing data available for this analysis, so no trend could be compared.

Because Nob Hill serves only elementary grades, it has no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was not available in the provided records. Information on special education and English learner populations was also missing from the data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the programs and support available for these students.

The district as a whole has received recognition. The Yakima School Board was named the 2024 Large District School Board of the Year in Washington state, and the district has expanded dual-language programs to nearly every elementary school. College-access initiatives also allow students to graduate high school with an associate’s degree without leaving campus, though those programs are relevant to the district’s high schools.

Housing in the area around the school is priced modestly relative to the Washington state median. Typical home values and rents are below the statewide benchmarks, making this part of Yakima more affordable than many other communities in the state. The local economy is heavily shaped by agriculture, healthcare, and retail, and the city itself offers the Yakima Greenway, a paved path system along the rivers, as well as downtown festivals and the annual Central Washington State Fair.

For a family considering this school, the picture is one of an elementary school in a district pursuing recognized improvements, set in an affordable and steadily growing city. The academic results are mixed but competitive with the county average, and the school’s small size for its grade band suggests a more intimate setting. Families would want to learn directly about support for English learners and students with disabilities, as well as how the school’s dual-language programs, which the district has expanded, operate at this specific campus.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 38% · ▲ 13 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 58% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 23% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 23% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 29% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 34% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 27% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolYakima 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-income36%Higher-income54%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income54%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income64%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income54%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income38%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income10%Higher-income60%50 pp gap