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South Bay Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
391st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,138 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 66% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

South Bay Elementary is a public PK–5 school in Lacey, Washington, serving 595 students in the North Thurston Public Schools district. The school serves a moderately diverse, economically mixed community and has a 16.9 student-teacher ratio. Its latest statewide ranking places it at the 66th percentile, or 391st among 1,138 Washington schools, making it one of the stronger traditional elementary schools in its district comparison group.

South Bay’s clearest academic strengths are math and science. In 2025–2026, 51.06% of students were proficient in math—well above both the district and state rates—and 64.29% were proficient in science, about 13.5 percentage points above both benchmarks. English language arts proficiency was 53.66%, close to district and state results. However, grade-level results reveal an important difference: third-grade ELA proficiency was 37.97%, below district and state rates, while fifth-grade ELA reached 64.29%. Overall performance has improved considerably, rising from the 53rd percentile in 2022–2023 to the 66th percentile in the latest year.

Pleasant Glade Elementary, the closest traditional comparison school, ranks higher overall at the 72nd percentile and has stronger ELA and math results, but South Bay slightly leads it in science. Olympic View Elementary has a similar overall standing at the 59th percentile, with slightly stronger math but lower ELA and science results. Roosevelt Elementary School and Boston Harbor Elementary rank higher nearby. Parents may want to ask about support for third-grade literacy and special education, whose effectiveness has improved but remains a relative weakness, while also noting South Bay’s encouraging gains in math, science, and several student groups.

595
Students ?
16.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$18,084
Per pupil spending ?
42.4%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
 3845 Sleater Kinney Rd NE
       Lacey, WA  98506-2699

(360) 412-4640

District: North Thurston Public Schools


Students who attend South Bay Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Chinook Middle School
High:    North Thurston High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
53.4%
Hispanic:
19.2%
Two or more races:
14.5%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare South Bay Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 53rd percentile in 2023 → 66th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Washington average (54% vs 48% meeting standards)
✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 66th (2026) from a 53rd-percentile low (2023)
✓Among the top-ranked schools in North Thurston Public Schools
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school54%
District avg46%
Washington avg48%
391st of 1,138
Washington public elementary schools ?
Top 34%▼ down 9 pts since 2016
From top 25% (2016) to top 34% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
3rd of 13Elementary Schools in the North Thurston Public Schools
100th 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202662.7391 of 113865.6%★★★☆☆
202559.5438 of 116062.2%★★★☆☆
202457.7475 of 116859.3%★★★☆☆
202349.7551 of 116952.9%★★★☆☆
202266.5359 of 116969.3%★★★☆☆
202161.6395 of 110764.3%★★★☆☆
201972.8296 of 113073.8%★★★★☆
201872.9277 of 105473.7%★★★★☆
201777.2231 of 105678.1%★★★★☆
201674.2263 of 105375.0%★★★★☆
201574.5241 of 106777.4%★★★★☆
201367.1355 of 110667.9%★★★☆☆
201263.8402 of 109763.4%★★★☆☆
201167.5328 of 109270.0%★★★★☆
201077.5188 of 108882.7%★★★★☆
200969.8286 of 107273.3%★★★★☆
200875.2208 of 106780.5%★★★★☆
200774.7208 of 106980.5%★★★★☆
200674.7214 of 105179.6%★★★★☆
200560.7401 of 103161.1%★★★☆☆
200458.7410 of 102660.0%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202564.577 of 30374.6%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202660.2384 of 102062.4%★★★☆☆
202552.9481 of 109256.0%★★★☆☆
202448.0546 of 109350.0%★★★☆☆
202346.4566 of 109448.3%★★☆☆☆
202264.3360 of 110067.3%★★★☆☆
202160.3367 of 100863.6%★★★☆☆
201970.4308 of 106871.2%★★★★☆
201873.9251 of 100475.0%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202688.427 of 64995.8%★★★★★
202567.0182 of 65972.4%★★★★☆
202477.2103 of 65184.2%★★★★☆
202348.3320 of 63349.4%★★☆☆☆
202277.991 of 69486.9%★★★★☆
202161.2122 of 50175.6%★★★★☆
201979.194 of 69786.5%★★★★☆
201878.777 of 54085.7%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202663.9314 of 100868.8%★★★☆☆
202547.5519 of 101348.8%★★☆☆☆
202435.4705 of 102431.2%★★☆☆☆
202341.2610 of 101339.8%★★☆☆☆
202276.7128 of 101987.4%★★★★☆
202166.3199 of 85476.7%★★★★☆
201962.9310 of 97968.3%★★★☆☆
201877.3100 of 83588.0%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202662.8375 of 105964.6%★★★☆☆
202563.9372 of 109866.1%★★★☆☆
202465.7357 of 109967.5%★★★☆☆
202350.5508 of 109953.8%★★★☆☆
202266.8337 of 111369.7%★★★☆☆
202159.4373 of 102563.6%★★★☆☆
201973.3274 of 107574.5%★★★★☆
201868.6309 of 99969.1%★★★☆☆

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202548.230 of 4533.3%★★☆☆☆
202328.841 of 4814.6%★☆☆☆☆
201963.615 of 5070.0%★★★★☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202665.024 of 11979.8%★★★★☆
202544.4119 of 19739.6%★★☆☆☆
202364.964 of 19467.0%★★★☆☆
202242.4150 of 25240.5%★★☆☆☆
202127.294 of 12826.6%★☆☆☆☆
201975.652 of 30382.8%★★★★☆
201854.299 of 21253.3%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202638.4277 of 43235.9%★★☆☆☆
202517.8329 of 3639.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202417.2309 of 3398.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202243.9236 of 47850.6%★★★☆☆
201972.1105 of 56681.4%★★★★☆
201884.658 of 63790.9%★★★★★

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202657.4384 of 90157.4%★★★☆☆
202547.2528 of 100747.6%★★☆☆☆
202452.1482 of 100952.2%★★★☆☆
202357.2418 of 101158.7%★★★☆☆
202261.2379 of 103163.2%★★★☆☆
202166.5300 of 94368.2%★★★☆☆
201968.1328 of 102768.1%★★★☆☆
201868.5267 of 83367.9%★★★☆☆
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)
Hispanic (2026)96th percentile+30 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)80th percentile+14 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)75th percentile+12 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)69th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2026)65th percentile~ school
Female (2026)62nd percentile-3 vs school
White (2026)57th percentile-8 vs school
Special Education (2026)36th percentile-30 vs school
Military Connected (2025)33rd percentile-29 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2025-2026) ?
Science64%+13 vs state
English Language Arts54%~ state avg
Math51%+8 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about South Bay Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 595 students attended South Bay Elementary.

Students at South Bay Elementary are 53% White, 19% Hispanic, 14% Two or more races, 7% Asian, 3% African American, 3% Pacific Islander.

South Bay Elementary ranks 391st of 1138 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students who attend South Bay Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Chinook Middle School
High : North Thurston High School

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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.

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