Enrollment
486
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sammamish, WA
Rachel Carson Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Rachel Carson Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 530423003242
👥 S:T ratio 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 3
📋 Attendance 71
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Rachel Carson Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median.
- #5 of 10
- public schools in Sammamish · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.7:1
- students per teacher
- 2.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Rachel Carson Elementary has class sizes near the Washington median. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Rachel Carson Elementary ranks #5 of 10 public schools in Sammamish, WA.
School address
District: Lake Washington School District · Washington
NCES ID 530423003242 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.7:1
vs 17.6:1 Washington avg
-11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
2.1%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-95% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rachel Carson Elementary compares with Washington and U.S. medians
What stands out at Rachel Carson Elementary
Rachel Carson Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Sammamish, Washington, enrolling 486 students.
At 15.7:1, 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.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 2.1% free-meal eligibility runs 95% below the Washington average.
Enrollment of 486 puts it in the larger third of Washington schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,394 scored Washington schools.
Against 173 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #122.
Its student body is led by Asian (62%) and White (25%) (diversity index 55/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 486 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.
Lake Washington School District also operates Eastlake High School (2,481 students) and Redmond High School (2,304 students) alongside Rachel Carson 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 Rachel Carson Elementary compares
Rachel Carson 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 | 15.7:1 | ▼ 11% | 17.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 2.1% | ▼ 95% | 45.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 486 | top 33% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.7:1
Leaner classes than 41% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
486
Bigger than 60% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
2.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 95% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.7:1
students per teacher
- 11% below state mean
Top 42% in Washington - lower ratio than 58% 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
$16,269
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 486 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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
Asian 62.1%
White 24.7%
Two or More 7.6%
Hispanic or Latino 3.7%
African American 1.9%
Largest group: Asian at 62.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 54.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 54.6, Rachel Carson Elementary is about as mixed as the Washington school average of 53.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lake Washington School District, which includes Rachel Carson Elementary.
$16,269
Per student
-17%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
-2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.5%
State 58.6%
Federal 5.9%
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 Rachel Carson Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastlake High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Redmond High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lake Washington High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Juanita High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Inglewood Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Rachel Carson Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,481
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 2,304
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 2,081
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 1,778
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 1,229
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
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 (~486 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Rachel Carson Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Rachel Carson Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lake Washington 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 Rachel Carson Elementary
How many students attend Rachel Carson Elementary?
Rachel Carson Elementary has 486 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sammamish, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rachel Carson Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Rachel Carson Elementary is 15.7:1, which is 11% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 0% 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 Rachel Carson Elementary?
2.1% of students at Rachel Carson Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rachel Carson Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Rachel Carson Elementary is Asian at 62.1% of enrollment, in Sammamish, WA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rachel Carson Elementary?
Rachel Carson Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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).
How does Rachel Carson Elementary rank among public schools in Sammamish?
By Resource Investment Index, Rachel Carson Elementary ranks #5 of 10 public schools in Sammamish, WA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Sammamish on the city page.
Is Rachel Carson Elementary a good school?
Rachel Carson Elementary earns 45/100 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 Lake Washington School District?
Besides Rachel Carson Elementary, Lake Washington School District also operates Eastlake High School (2,481 students), Redmond High School (2,304 students), and Lake Washington High School (2,081 students). See the Lake Washington 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.