6 public K-12 schools in Carnation from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
6 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.
The highest-ranked of Carnation's 6 public schools is Tolt Middle School, scoring 50/100, against a city average of 42/100. Computed live across every Carnation campus reporting to NCES.
How the Carnation Public-School Landscape Breaks Down
Carnation, WA enrolls 1,677 students across 6 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 24.8:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 42/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.
The most-resourced campus in Carnation on this index is Tolt Middle School, at 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 633 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.
Carnation spans 1 district, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.
Tolt Middle School accounts for 37.7% of all Carnation public-school enrollment
That dominant concentration means Carnation-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade level: Middle. A dominant campus often anchors a city's program landscape and absorbs a disproportionate share of district capital and staffing decisions. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Carnation school enrollment varies 42× across entities
Carnation school enrollment ranges from 15 students (lowest) to 633 students (highest), a spread of 618 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme heterogeneity inside a single city, small specialty programs sit alongside large comprehensive campuses, often serving very different family demographics inside walking distance. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.
Carnation operates only 1 school district — one of the single most consolidated governance structures in the country
Most Carnation school districts are a single unified district covering the whole city, a structural feature that simplifies inter-school comparison but concentrates policy authority, and the count here is near the floor observed nationally. Consolidation produces narrower variance because resources pool across a large population, but it can also mask intra-school district inequities — sub-school district differences within a single school district are not visible at this aggregation level. Consolidated systems typically rely more heavily on top-down funding formulas than on local revenue variability.
Carnation student-teacher ratio is 24.8:1 — high (typically associated with larger urban scale or staffing constraints that have widened the headcount gap)
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Carnation
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
The highest-ranked school in Carnation is Tolt Middle School with a quality score of 50/100. There are 6 public schools in Carnation with 1,677 total students.
How many schools are in Carnation, WA? ▼
Carnation has 6 public schools with a total enrollment of 1,677 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 24.8:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology, which explains how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
