Bailey Gatzert Elementary School vs Hawthorne Elementary School

Hawthorne Elementary School ranks #4 of 2,225 schools in Washington, compared to Bailey Gatzert Elementary School at #48 — both elite positions statewide, but a 44-rank gap that reflects a meaningful difference in measured outcomes. On the 10-point overall scale, Hawthorne scores 9.6 versus Bailey Gatzert's 9.1, a 0.5-point gap that understates how far apart these two Seattle schools sit in the state distribution.

The academic score is where the sharpest difference appears: Hawthorne Elementary School scores 9.3/10 on academics against Bailey Gatzert Elementary School's 7.2/10 — a 2.1-point delta. That gap likely reflects the demographic composition of each school's tested population rather than instructional quality alone. On growth — how much students actually improve relative to peers — both schools are equal, each earning a 9.9/10. That identical growth score signals that Bailey Gatzert is moving students forward at the same rate as one of the top four schools in the state, despite starting from lower baselines.

Demographically, these schools serve distinctly different communities. Bailey Gatzert Elementary School reports 85% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch; Hawthorne Elementary School reports 26%. Enrollment is nearly identical — 361 vs. 374 students — so the difference is composition, not scale. Bailey Gatzert also offers a lower student-teacher ratio of 12.0:1 compared to Hawthorne's 15.0:1, meaning students at Bailey Gatzert have more adult contact time per day, which can be especially significant for students who benefit from additional support.

Both schools serve grades PK–05 and sit just 2.9 miles apart in Seattle. The grade-span match means a family choosing between them faces a like-for-like structural comparison across the full elementary years. The divergence is in academic proficiency levels and the populations each school is built to serve — not in grade offerings, school size, or growth trajectory.