Enrollment
224
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Washougal, WA
Gause Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Gause Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 530954001623
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Gause Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Washington schools.
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.4:1
- small classes for Washington
- 40.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 224
- students enrolled
Gause Elementary has class sizes smaller than 88% of Washington schools. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Washougal School District · Washington
NCES ID 530954001623 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 17.6:1 Washington avg
-30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
40.1%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-11% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Gause Elementary compares with Washington and U.S. medians
What stands out at Gause Elementary
Gause Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Washougal, Washington, enrolling 224 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 12.4:1, Gause Elementary is leaner than roughly 88% of Washington schools and 30% under the state's 17.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 40.1% lands close to the Washington typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 224 puts it in the smaller third of Washington schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,394 scored Washington schools.
Among 174 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Washington schools statewide, it ranks #139, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (79%) and Hispanic or Latino (10%) (diversity index 37/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Washougal's public schools, it stands alongside Columbia River Gorge Elementary School (340 students): Gause Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.4:1 vs 14.8:1).
Washougal School District also operates Washougal High School (942 students) and Jemtegaard Middle School (408 students) alongside Gause Elementary.
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 Gause Elementary compares
Gause Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Washington and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.4:1 | ▼ 30% | 17.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 40.1% | ▼ 11% | 45.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 224 | top 71% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
224
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
40.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 11% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 30% below state mean
Top 12% in Washington - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
27.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,033
per pupil, district-wide
- below Washington avg of $19,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 78.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.8%
Two or More 6.7%
African American 2.7%
Asian 1.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
Largest group: White at 78.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 36.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 36.7, Gause Elementary is less mixed than the Washington school average of 53.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Washougal School District, which includes Gause Elementary.
$17,033
Per student
-13%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.9%
State 57.9%
Federal 12.2%
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 Gause Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washougal High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Jemtegaard Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Columbia River Gorge Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cape Horn Skye Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hathaway Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Gause Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 942
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 408
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 340
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 284
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 272
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar other schools in Washougal
5 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Columbia River Gorge Elementary School
Standard public school
340 students 14.8:1 students per teacher
Cape Horn Skye Elementary
Standard public school
284 students 17.8:1 students per teacher
Hathaway Elementary
Standard public school
272 students 13.6:1 students per teacher
Washougal Special Services
Special-education school
36 students
Washougal Learning Academy
Alternative education program
13 students
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 (~224 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Gause Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Gause Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Washougal 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 Gause Elementary
How many students attend Gause Elementary?
Gause Elementary has 224 students enrolled. It is a public school in Washougal, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gause Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Gause Elementary is 12.4:1, which is 30% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 21% lower 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 Gause Elementary?
40.1% of students at Gause Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Gause Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Gause Elementary is White at 78.6% of enrollment, in Washougal, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Gause Elementary?
Gause Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Gause Elementary a good school?
Gause Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Washington schools. 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 Washougal School District?
Besides Gause Elementary, Washougal School District also operates Washougal High School (942 students), Jemtegaard Middle School (408 students), and Columbia River Gorge Elementary School (340 students). See the Washougal 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.