Madison Elementary School, Olympia WA

Original Research by School Decision on Madison Elementary School

Madison Elementary School is a regular public school in the Olympia School District, serving students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits in a residential stretch of Washington’s capital city, a community defined by state government, a historic downtown, and fare-free public transit. This is a small elementary school, with student enrollment in the lower hundreds.

The student body is roughly half White, with the remainder made up largely of Hispanic students and students of two or more races, alongside smaller shares of Asian, Black, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. About half the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker of economic diversity within the school’s attendance zone.

On state assessments, Madison’s performance is mixed and varies by grade. In English language arts, third graders posted a relatively strong proficiency rate, while fourth and fifth graders were in a more moderate range. In math, proficiency declined notably from third to fifth grade, with fifth grade showing a softer result. On the fifth-grade science assessment, around half of students met the proficiency standard. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Thurston County. This is a single school-year snapshot, and no prior-year trend data is available to show whether these outcomes reflect a stable pattern or a shift.

The school grounds its academic program in the elementary-level curriculum of the Olympia School District. There is no information available about course offerings beyond the core subjects, nor about special education staffing or the share of English learners enrolled. A parent who wants to understand how the school serves students with individualized education plans or multilingual learners would need to ask the school directly.

Housing in the area carries a price that is elevated relative to national norms, and rental costs are also high. A mortgage on a median-priced home here would be substantially higher than a typical rent payment, making homeownership a stretch for many households. National interest rates are in the mid-single digits, and the local unemployment rate has been stable at a moderate level. These conditions shape the pool of families who can afford to live in the attendance zone.

The school’s setting is urban Olympia, the state capital, which means significant institutional employment in state government and the public sector. The city has a recognizable music and arts identity, and the presence of The Evergreen State College adds a college-town dimension. Interstate 5 runs through the south side of the city, providing access to the broader Puget Sound region.

No recent changes within the Olympia School District were publicly reported that would have a lasting impact on Madison’s families, such as boundary adjustments, school closures, or major program overhauls. The district brief returned no such items.

A family considering Madison Elementary should weigh the school’s economic mix and its position above the county midpoint in overall proficiency against the notable drop in math proficiency between lower and upper elementary grades. The school is manageable in size, which may appeal to families who want teachers to know their children by name. The lack of trend data means it is not possible to say whether the current test results are improving or slipping. A conversation with the principal about how the school supports math learning in fourth and fifth grade, and about the resources available for students who need additional help, would be a reasonable next step for a prospective parent.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 53% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 51% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 44% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 55% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 60% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 61% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 61% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolOlympia 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 3Lower-income57%Higher-income77%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income61%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income74%33 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income43%Higher-income65%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income44%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income32%0 pp gap