Thomas Middle School, Lakewood WA

Original Research by School Decision on Thomas Middle School

Thomas Middle School, part of the Clover Park School District in Lakewood, Washington, serves students in grades six through eight as a regular public school. Lakewood itself is a suburban city and the second-largest in Pierce County, shaped heavily by its role as host to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The city has a distributed commercial landscape rather than a traditional downtown, with nodes like Lakewood Towne Center and an International District along South Tacoma Way. The economy is dominated by the military base, healthcare, and retail, and the housing market reflects a mix of mid-century subdivisions and multi-family complexes. The school’s zip area shows home values on par with the state average and a modest rent-to-income ratio, suggesting a middle-ground housing market for families.

Thomas Middle School enrolls a large student body for a middle school, drawing from across the district’s attendance area. The student population is racially and ethnically diverse, with White students making up the largest share, followed by Hispanic students and then Black students and students of two or more races in roughly equal proportion. Smaller but notable shares of Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and Asian students round out the mix. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a majority of families come from lower-income households. The school is not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported.

On state assessments administered in the 2024–25 school year, the school’s results show proficiency rates that trail state averages. In English language arts, roughly two-fifths of sixth graders and a little under half of seventh graders met the bar, while eighth-grade ELA proficiency was lower. Math proficiency was weaker across all three grades, with rates declining from sixth to eighth grade, and about a third of eighth graders met the science standard. Compared to other districts in Pierce County, using an index that averages proficiency across tested subjects and grades, Thomas Middle School falls in the bottom quartile. A single year of data is available, so there is no trend to assess improvement or decline. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how individual student growth is tracked and what interventions are in place.

The school’s grade band means there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing was not available in the data reviewed. Similarly, details on special education and English learner populations were missing, which limits a full picture of student support structures.

The Clover Park School District itself, when searched for recent parent-relevant developments such as boundary changes or curriculum shifts, offered little publicly available detail of lasting impact. The district serves the Lakewood area and the military-connected families stationed at JBLM, which can mean above-average student mobility. The school’s size and suburban setting offer a typical middle school experience with the usual range of electives and activities, though specific program offerings were not included in the available data.

For a family considering this school, the central facts are that it is a large, diverse middle school serving a district with many lower-income and military-connected families, and that its state test scores are below the county median. The area’s housing is moderately priced for the region, and Lakewood’s identity as a bedroom community centered on a major military base gives it a particular character that suits families who value that proximity or who work on base.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 22% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 23% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 16% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 32% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 35% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 31% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Science

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 27% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolClover Park School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income43%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income52%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income51%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income34%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income32%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income16%Higher-income29%12 pp gap