Clover Park School District

The Clover Park School District operates 28 schools, from elementary through high school, serving around 11,000 students in the Lakewood and Joint Base Lewis-McChord area, though it ranks in the bottom third of Washington districts overall.

Performance varies dramatically across schools, with clear standouts and several in need of significant support. The highest-performing schools are often located on the military base, such as Beachwood Elementary School and Rainier Elementary School, which rank in the 87th and 71st percentiles statewide, respectively. General William H. Harrison Preparatory School is the district's top-ranked comprehensive school. In contrast, the district's traditional middle schools, particularly Lochburn Middle School and Hudtloff Middle School, perform very poorly, with Lochburn ranking last in the state.

Key takeaways include a major middle school performance crisis, especially in math, and a paradox where traditional high schools like Clover Park High School and Lakes High School have excellent graduation rates despite low standardized test scores. There is also no clear link between per-student spending and academic outcomes. Alternative programs, such as the CPSD Open Doors Program, face significant challenges with low graduation and high dropout rates.