Olympic View Elementary, Lacey WA

Original Research by School Decision on Olympic View Elementary

Olympic View Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in Lacey and is part of North Thurston Public Schools, the largest school district in Thurston County. It sits in a suburban residential community that grew out of the Olympia–Fort Lewis commuter corridor, where Interstate 5 splits the city and where warehouse and distribution centers have become a defining feature of the local economy alongside retail, state government employment, and a growing healthcare sector.

The school is larger than typical for an elementary building serving those grades in this region. Its student body is racially and economically diverse. Slightly less than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a share that places the school near the countywide middle on that measure. White students constitute the largest single group, but no group reaches a majority, with Hispanic students, students of two or more races, Asian students, Black students, and smaller shares of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and American Indian or Alaska Native students all represented. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, which is an important gap for a parent weighing special education or language support. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data was included.

Academic results from the 2024–25 state assessments show performance that, combined across tested subjects and grades, ranks in the top quartile relative to other schools in Thurston County. That is a strong standing. In English language arts, proficiency rates were highest at third grade and remained solid in fourth and fifth grades, with roughly three-fifths of students meeting the bar. Math proficiency was similar in the lower grades but dropped noticeably by fifth grade, where fewer than half of students scored proficient. Science results, tested only at fifth grade, also came in below half. The single-year data does not allow a trendline, so it is not possible to tell whether this is a stable pattern or a fluctuation. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students who are not yet meeting math and science benchmarks as they approach middle school.

The school offers no specialized magnet or charter designation, and its Title I status was not reported. Program offerings beyond the core curriculum were not in the data, so it is unclear what enrichment, music, art, physical education, or intervention programs are available.

Housing in the area commands prices that are broadly in line with the state average and notably higher than the national typical home value. Rents have been rising faster than the national pace, and the estimated monthly cost of owning is higher than renting. The local unemployment rate has been steady and below the national average. These conditions suggest a market where entry is expensive but the job base, anchored by state government and large employers like Amazon and a major Target distribution center, provides relative stability.

Lacey itself is a car-dependent city without a traditional walkable downtown, though a civic campus near City Hall and the library provides a partial focal point. Growth has been steady, with new warehouse development, a planned casino resort by the Nisqually Tribe, and recent healthcare infrastructure investments. For a family considering Olympic View Elementary, the picture is of a school performing well overall in English language arts and early math, with a softer spot in upper-elementary math and science that warrants attention, set in a region of continued expansion and above-average housing costs.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 37% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 47% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 38% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 37% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 49% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 53% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 52% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolNorth Thurston Public Schools, 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 3Lower-income57%Higher-income75%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income67%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income63%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income48%Higher-income66%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income78%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income56%26 pp gap