Enrollment
486
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 530423003242
Rachel Carson Elementary — Sammamish, WA
Federal NCES profile for Rachel Carson Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 3
📋 Attendance 71
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Lake Washington School District · Washington
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-4% 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
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Rachel Carson Elementary reports 486 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 2.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 95% below the Washington average and 96% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 486 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lake Washington School District spends $19,952 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.5% from local sources (property taxes), 58.6% from the state, and 5.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Rachel Carson Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17:1 | ▼ 4% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 2.1% | ▼ 95% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 486 | top 67% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
2.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 95% 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
17:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 57% in Washington — lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
11.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$19,952
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
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
Enrollment 486 Top 67% in Washington — larger than 33% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 17:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 2.1% -95% vs state
NCES ID 530423003242
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.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 486:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lake Washington School District, which includes Rachel Carson Elementary.
$19,952
Per student
-14%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,481
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,304
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,081
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 1,778
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,229
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Rachel Carson Elementary
How many students attend Rachel Carson Elementary?
Rachel Carson Elementary has 486 students enrolled. It is a other school in Sammamish, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rachel Carson Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Rachel Carson Elementary is 17:1, which is 4% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 7% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. 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%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sammamish, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rachel Carson Elementary?
Rachel Carson Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.