Cedar Trails Elementary vs Christa Mcauliffe Elementary

Christa McAuliffe Elementary holds a commanding advantage in overall standing: rated 9.7/10 against Cedar Trails Elementary's 9.0/10, and ranked #3 of 2,225 Washington schools compared to Cedar Trails Elementary's #106. That 0.7-point overall gap places Christa McAuliffe Elementary among the very top tier statewide, while Cedar Trails Elementary, sitting in the top 5% at #106, still outperforms the vast majority of Washington elementary schools. Both serve Sammamish families and are just 4.3 miles apart, making the performance gap between them especially meaningful for parents weighing neighborhood school options.

The academic and growth numbers reinforce that gap with precision. Christa McAuliffe Elementary scores 9.8/10 academically versus Cedar Trails Elementary's 9.2/10 — a 0.6-point difference — and the growth spread is wider still: 9.7/10 versus 8.9/10, a full 0.8-point margin. Growth scores measure how much students improve year over year regardless of starting point, so Christa McAuliffe Elementary is not simply serving a higher-scoring population; students there are advancing at a measurably faster rate than their Cedar Trails Elementary peers.

On enrollment and classroom structure, Christa McAuliffe Elementary is larger — 482 students versus Cedar Trails Elementary's 386 — and carries a higher student-teacher ratio of 16.1:1 compared to 14.3:1 at Cedar Trails Elementary. Parents who prioritize more individualized attention will find Cedar Trails Elementary's smaller class sizes meaningful. The free and reduced-price lunch rates diverge sharply: Cedar Trails Elementary serves 18% of students on FRL while Christa McAuliffe Elementary sits at just 2%, indicating a significant socioeconomic difference in the two student populations and suggesting Cedar Trails Elementary serves a modestly broader economic cross-section of Sammamish.

Both schools run kindergarten through fifth grade, so families with children across those grades can access a full elementary experience at either campus. The difference between them is not a matter of a weak school versus a strong one — Cedar Trails Elementary at #106 statewide is genuinely high-performing. The question for parents is the degree of performance edge they are seeking and whether smaller class sizes or top-three statewide academic momentum weighs more heavily in their decision.