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North Thurston High School

Q: Is North Thurston High School a good school?

North Thurston High School ranks 129 th of 396 Washington high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

129^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 396 Washington High Schools

Better than 67% of Washington high schools

Summary

North Thurston High School is a public school serving grades 9–12 in Lacey, Washington, with 1,378 students in the North Thurston Public Schools district. The school ranks in the 67th percentile statewide for 2025–2026, placing it ahead of its traditional same-district peers, including Timberline High School and River Ridge High School. It serves a relatively high-poverty student population, with 50.22% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school’s clearest strength is English language arts: 73.8% of students were proficient in 2025–2026, about 21 percentage points above both district and state results. Science was also slightly above district and state averages, at 54.43%. Math is the major concern, however, with only 28.36% proficiency—below the district and state and down from 35.66% the previous year. North Thurston’s ELA result exceeded Capital High School, Timberline, and River Ridge, although it trailed Olympia High School and Tumwater High School. The math gap is much wider: Olympia’s proficiency rate was 58.14%, compared with North Thurston’s 28.36%.

Graduation outcomes improved notably, reaching 88.2% in 2024–2025, above the state and district rates, while the dropout rate fell to 7.7%. These results suggest that students are generally staying on track despite the math challenge. The school also shows strong statewide effectiveness results for English learners, homeless students, and students receiving special education services. With a 21.4-to-1 student-teacher ratio and recent gains in graduation, North Thurston appears to be a solid, improving school whose most important priority is strengthening math while maintaining its strong ELA performance.

1,378

Students ?

21.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,949

Per pupil spending ?

50.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

600 Sleater Kinney Rd NE
Lacey, WA 98506-5257

(360) 412-4800

District: North Thurston Public Schools

Feeder schools for North Thurston High School:

Elementary:	Lacey Elementary
	Mountain View Elementary
	Pleasant Glade Elementary
	South Bay Elementary
Middle:	Chinook Middle School

Racial breakdown:

White:

42.0%

Hispanic:

26.7%

Two or more races:

13.1%

See top rated Washington high schools

Compare North Thurston High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 74th percentile in 2023 → 67th in 2026

Strengths

✓88% graduate in 4 years — above the Washington average (83%)

✓Among the top-ranked schools in North Thurston Public Schools

✓Above the Washington median (67th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped from its 74th-percentile peak (2023) to 67th (2026)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Math scores 15 pts below the Washington average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school52%

District avg46%

Washington avg48%

129^th of 396

Washington public high schools ?

Top 33%▲ up 19 pts since 2016

From bottom 48% (2016) to top 33% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Washington High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 4High Schools in the North Thurston Public Schools

100^th of 238North Thurston Public Schools among Washington districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	65.5	129 of 396	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2025	64.5	133 of 438	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	56.6	175 of 437	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	68.9	113 of 442	74.4%	★★★★☆
2022	70.1	117 of 434	73.0%	★★★★☆
2021	57.1	170 of 455	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	67.6	122 of 417	70.7%	★★★★☆
2018	62.0	122 of 315	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2017	59.8	135 of 301	55.1%	★★★☆☆
2016	54.3	158 of 306	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2015	59.0	116 of 341	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2013	68.3	108 of 454	76.2%	★★★★☆
2012	64.6	126 of 450	72.0%	★★★★☆
2011	56.8	171 of 440	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	64.3	166 of 423	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2009	69.8	123 of 402	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2008	70.1	113 of 396	71.5%	★★★★☆
2007	64.1	152 of 399	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2006	68.3	125 of 395	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2005	67.4	131 of 394	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2004	78.0	75 of 390	80.8%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	54.3	34 of 80	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	70.0	17 of 70	75.7%	★★★★☆
2023	71.8	13 of 78	83.3%	★★★★☆
2022	72.3	19 of 89	78.7%	★★★★☆
2021	68.9	26 of 111	76.6%	★★★★☆
2019	71.1	16 of 86	81.4%	★★★★☆
2018	69.1	14 of 54	74.1%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	47.7	56 of 119	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	31.9	78 of 113	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	13.5	109 of 118	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	25.5	99 of 124	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.6	124 of 136	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	41.2	78 of 121	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	60.6	40 of 87	54.0%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	87.4	8 of 85	90.6%	★★★★★
2022	54.3	24 of 70	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	36.2	54 of 102	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	77.2	10 of 69	85.5%	★★★★☆
2018	56.5	20 of 65	69.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	61.5	114 of 309	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	61.7	114 of 350	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.1	151 of 347	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	61.0	131 of 357	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	71.2	88 of 368	76.1%	★★★★☆
2021	54.9	144 of 390	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	65.3	111 of 358	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	64.7	92 of 243	62.1%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	58.2	83 of 236	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	66.3	72 of 249	71.1%	★★★★☆
2024	48.3	118 of 248	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	86.1	21 of 249	91.6%	★★★★★
2022	81.1	35 of 261	86.6%	★★★★☆
2021	68.0	62 of 278	77.7%	★★★★☆
2019	60.3	80 of 241	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	66.1	42 of 156	73.1%	★★★★☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	81.4	5 of 36	86.1%	★★★★☆
2023	80.6	2 of 19	89.5%	★★★★★
2022	90.2	1 of 27	96.3%	★★★★★
2019	95.2	1 of 43	97.7%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	58.2	120 of 325	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	57.6	129 of 355	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.2	226 of 356	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	64.7	101 of 362	72.1%	★★★★☆
2022	79.8	50 of 370	86.5%	★★★★☆
2021	55.1	142 of 392	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	74.5	59 of 344	82.8%	★★★★☆
2018	69.1	55 of 227	75.8%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	65.6	104 of 326	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	62.2	121 of 359	66.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.0	163 of 362	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	71.6	81 of 358	77.4%	★★★★☆
2022	63.9	122 of 363	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	58.1	142 of 395	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	68.2	96 of 355	73.0%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	62.1	7 of 17	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	24.7	30 of 34	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	47.4	20 of 34	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	70.1	5 of 31	83.9%	★★★★☆
2022	60.2	13 of 38	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	57.8	17 of 47	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	82.5	5 of 31	83.9%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	49.4	85 of 170	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.6	89 of 161	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	60.1	57 of 166	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	61.3	65 of 179	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	33.6	137 of 195	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.0	107 of 163	34.4%	★★☆☆☆

Pacific Islander

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2022	48.1	12 of 17	29.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	55.6	13 of 33	60.6%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	69.6	27 of 144	81.3%	★★★★☆
2025	42.7	62 of 127	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	27.5	77 of 110	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	58.4	30 of 110	72.7%	★★★★☆
2021	29.9	150 of 212	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.2	95 of 128	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2026	67.9	89 of 319	72.1%	★★★★☆
2025	67.7	103 of 373	72.4%	★★★★☆
2024	64.1	116 of 374	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	68.6	100 of 379	73.6%	★★★★☆
2022	69.8	111 of 390	71.5%	★★★★☆
2021	63.0	126 of 413	69.5%	★★★★☆
2019	68.9	102 of 382	73.3%	★★★★☆
2018	56.7	106 of 222	52.3%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2025)91st percentile+21 vs school

Homeless (2025)86th percentile+16 vs school

Special Education (2026)81st percentile+14 vs school

White (2026)72nd percentile+5 vs school

Male (2026)68th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)65th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2026)63rd percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)63rd percentile-4 vs school

Military Connected (2026)59th percentile-9 vs school

African American (2025)58th percentile-12 vs school

Asian (2025)53rd percentile-17 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)50th percentile-20 vs school

Pacific Islander (2022)29th percentile-44 vs school

By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts74%+21 vs state

Science54%+3 vs state

Math28%-15 vs state

★

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Schools Near North Thurston High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				WCAS Science (2026)		SBAC English Language Arts (2026)		SBAC Math (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WCAS Science 11th Grade	WCAS Science All Grades	SBAC English Language Arts 10th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts All Grades	SBAC Math 10th Grade	SBAC Math All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
North Thurston High School	Public	9-12	600 Sleater Kinney Rd NE	Lacey	98506	Thurston County	North Thurston Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(360) 412-4800	1,378	64	21.4	50.2%	579 (42.0%)	60 (4.4%)	368 (26.7%)	125 (9.1%)	9 (0.7%)	50 (3.6%)	181 (13.1%)	65.5	129^th of 396 public high schools	67.4%		64.5	133^rd of 438 public high schools	69.6%	4	54.4	54.4	73.8	73.8	28.4	28.4	$16,949	$540	$16,410
Envision Career Academy	Public, Magnet	9-12	411 College St NE	Lacey	98516	Thurston County	North Thurston Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(360) 412-4880	139	8	16.9	59.0%	70 (50.4%)	3 (2.2%)	29 (20.9%)	8 (5.8%)	3 (2.2%)	2 (1.4%)	24 (17.3%)	53.9	174^th of 396 public high schools	56.1%		17.5	367^th of 438 public high schools	16.2%	193	50.0	50.0	54.8	54.8			$14,918	$679	$14,239
Touchstone	Public	6-12	2010 N Puget St	Olympia	98506	Thurston County	Olympia School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 596-6100	2	1	2.0		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)							$39,453	$5,896	$33,557
Avanti High School	Public	9-12	1113 Legion Way SE	Olympia	98501	Thurston County	Olympia School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 596-7900	167	9	17.7	31.1%	107 (64.1%)	1 (0.6%)	18 (10.8%)	3 (1.8%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (10.8%)								(n/a)					42.9	42.9	$13,737	$556	$13,181
Timberline High School	Public	9-12	6120 Mullen Rd SE	Lacey	98503	Thurston County	North Thurston Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(360) 412-4860	1,401	66	21.0	40.9%	640 (45.7%)	80 (5.7%)	305 (21.8%)	88 (6.3%)	10 (0.7%)	57 (4.1%)	210 (15.0%)	53.5	175^th of 396 public high schools	55.8%		45.2	233^rd of 438 public high schools	46.8%	58	43.7	43.7	72.1	72.1	24.5	24.5	$16,429	$550	$15,879
Olympia High School	Public	9-12	1302 North St SE	Olympia	98501	Thurston County	Olympia School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 596-7000	1,901	83	22.9	22.7%	1,132 (59.5%)	44 (2.3%)	226 (11.9%)	203 (10.7%)	6 (0.3%)	9 (0.5%)	199 (10.5%)	91.4	31^st of 396 public high schools	92.2%		91.5	29^th of 438 public high schools	93.4%	2	70.8	70.8	76.3	76.3	58.1	58.1	$16,028	$388	$15,640
River Ridge High School	Public	9-12	350 River Ridge Drive SE	Lacey	98513	Thurston County	North Thurston Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(360) 412-4820	1,547	77	20.1	46.9%	532 (34.4%)	99 (6.4%)	425 (27.5%)	174 (11.2%)	32 (2.1%)	48 (3.1%)	231 (14.9%)	53.1	178^th of 396 public high schools	55.1%		40	264^th of 438 public high schools	39.7%	86	42.0	42.0	65.9	65.9	30.6	30.6	$16,528	$729	$15,800
Capital High School	Public	9-12	2707 Conger Ave NW	Olympia	98502	Thurston County	Olympia School District	No	No	No	Yes	(360) 596-8000	1,322	63	21.0	37.7%	740 (56.0%)	71 (5.4%)	207 (15.7%)	74 (5.6%)	19 (1.4%)	9 (0.7%)	143 (10.8%)	80.2	59^th of 396 public high schools	85.1%		68.6	115^th of 438 public high schools	73.7%	56	72.9	72.9	70.2	70.2	40.1	40.1	$17,438	$574	$16,864
Education Service District 113 Consortium Reengagement Program	Public, Magnet	11-12	6005 Tyee Dr. SW	Tumwater	98512	Thurston County	Capital Region Education Service District 113	No	Yes	No	No	(360) 464-6700	344	0			194 (56.4%)	8 (2.3%)	86 (25.0%)	7 (2.0%)	3 (0.9%)	4 (1.2%)	25 (7.3%)								(n/a)
Thurs County Juvenile Det/Tumwater West E	Public	6-12	2801 32nd Avenue SW	Tumwater	98512	Thurston County	Tumwater School District	No	No	No	No	(360) 709-3198	5	1	5.0		3 (60.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (40.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)							$27,925	$3,742	$24,183

Frequently Asked Questions about North Thurston High School

What schools feed into North Thurston High School?

North Thurston High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Lacey Elementary
Elementary : Mountain View Elementary
Elementary : Pleasant Glade Elementary
Elementary : South Bay Elementary
Middle : Chinook Middle School

Is North Thurston High School a good school?

North Thurston High School ranks 129^th of 396 Washington high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend North Thurston High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,378 students attended North Thurston High School.

What district is North Thurston High School in?

North Thurston Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of North Thurston High School?

Students at North Thurston High School are 42% White, 27% Hispanic, 13% Two or more races, 9% Asian, 4% African American, 4% Pacific Islander.

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Latest Washington data All new data »

2025–26 SBAC & WCAS test scoresSep 10, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 8, 2026

2022–23 through 2023–24 school spending dataJan 6, 2026

2024–25 SBAC & WCAS test scoresSep 10, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.