Enrollment
506
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Milton, WA
Discovery Primary School
Federal NCES profile for Discovery Primary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 530288000464
👥 S:T ratio 37
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 71
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Discovery Primary School earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median.
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.8:1
- students per teacher
- 34.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 506
- students enrolled
Discovery Primary School has class sizes near the Washington median. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Fife School District · Washington
NCES ID 530288000464 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 17.6:1 Washington avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.9%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Discovery Primary School compares with Washington and U.S. medians
What stands out at Discovery Primary School
Discovery Primary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Milton, Washington, enrolling 506 students.
At 15.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Washington median, within a few percentage points of the 17.6:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 34.9% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 506 puts it in the larger third of Washington schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,394 scored Washington schools.
Among 494 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Washington schools statewide, it ranks #432, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (42%) and Hispanic or Latino (25%) (diversity index 73/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 506 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
11.7% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Fife School District also operates Fife High School (885 students) and Fife Elementary School (866 students) alongside Discovery Primary School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Discovery Primary School compares
Discovery Primary School on the metrics families compare, against Washington and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▼ 10% | 17.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.9% | ▼ 22% | 45.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 506 | top 30% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.8:1
Leaner classes than 40% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
506
Bigger than 62% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
34.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 22% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
- 10% below state mean
Top 44% in Washington - lower ratio than 56% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
11.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$16,780
per pupil, district-wide
- below Washington avg of $19,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 506 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 42.1%
Hispanic or Latino 25.1%
Two or More 13.8%
Asian 9.3%
African American 5.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 3.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 42.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 72.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 72.8, Discovery Primary School is more mixed than the Washington school average of 53.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fife School District, which includes Discovery Primary School.
$16,780
Per student
-14%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.2%
State 59.8%
Federal 8.0%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Discovery Primary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fife High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Fife Elementary School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Columbia Junior High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Surprise Lake Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hedden Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Discovery Primary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 885
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 866
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 619
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 613
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Washington, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~506 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Discovery Primary School's federal record.
- Compare Discovery Primary School against another school. Compare schools
- Fife School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Discovery Primary School
How many students attend Discovery Primary School?
Discovery Primary School has 506 students enrolled. It is a public school in Milton, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Discovery Primary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Discovery Primary School is 15.8:1, which is 10% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Discovery Primary School?
34.9% of students at Discovery Primary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Discovery Primary School?
The largest demographic group at Discovery Primary School is White at 42.1% of enrollment, in Milton, WA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 72.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Discovery Primary School?
Discovery Primary School has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Discovery Primary School a good school?
Discovery Primary School earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Fife School District?
Besides Discovery Primary School, Fife School District also operates Fife High School (885 students), Fife Elementary School (866 students), and Columbia Junior High School (619 students). See the Fife School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.