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What's one thing Chinook Middle School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
746
Middle
DISTRICT 649 · STATE 577
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTH THURSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 530585000862
Chinook Middle School
4301 6th Ave NE, Lacey, WA 98516 · (360) 412-4760 · Thurston County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL746 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.6:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.6:1 · STATE 18.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
414 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 241 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 245 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 260 | 35% |
Student demographics
74%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 68% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
52.3%
WA avg 58.4% . +1.0pp since 2014
Math
28.8%
WA avg 51.2% . -14.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 52 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 29 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 15 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 52.3% | 28.8% |
| 2023-24 | 43.6% | 28.0% |
| 2022-23 | 47.5% | 28.4% |
| 2021-22 | 48.7% | 30.3% |
| 2018-19 | 57.7% | 42.2% |
| 2017-18 | 58.6% | 44.0% |
| 2016-17 | 59.1% | 46.5% |
| 2015-16 | 58.4% | 45.3% |
| 2014-15 | 51.3% | 43.6% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
38.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.0%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Washington's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Chinook Middle School
Chinook Middle School's state test result (38.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinook Middle School this school | 746 | 55.5% | 38.8% |
| Nisqually Middle School Lacey | 789 | 51.3% | 29.9% |
| Surprise Lake Middle School Milton | 613 | 55.5% | 33.6% |
| Covington Middle School Vancouver | 830 | 58.1% | N/A |
| Marysville Middle School Marysville | 656 | 61.0% | 21.3% |
| Cascade Middle School Vancouver | 815 | 59.5% | N/A |
Matched among Washington middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Chinook Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Thurston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.8% | #162 of 294 | #13 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.8% | #223 of 357 ▼ 5 | #14 of 16 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 52.3% | #135 of 357 ▲ 68 | #7 of 16 ▲ 5 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.1pp | #171 of 290 | #11 of 16 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 746 | #106 of 377 | #3 of 16 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.6:1 | #196 of 340 | #12 of 16 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 73.7% | #51 of 340 | #1 of 16 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 55.5% | #147 of 359 | #2 of 16 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.4% | #126 of 130 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
746
-67 (-8%) vs 2020
-15% since 1990-91, when it was 875
Student : Teacher
19.6:1
was 20.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 746 | 38 | 19.6:1 | 55% (414) |
| 2023-24 | 710 | 39.6 | 17.9:1 | 55% (394) |
| 2022-23 | 788 | 41.6 | 18.9:1 | 54% (423) |
| 2020-21 | 813 | 39 | 20.9:1 | 48% (392) |
| 2017-18 | 743 | 37.5 | 19.8:1 | 48% (356) |
| 2015-16 | 1,000 | 46 | 21.7:1 | 46% (457) |
| 2010-11 | 623 | 33 | 18.9:1 | 24% (149) |
| 2000-01 | 657 | 35 | 18.8:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 875 | 41 | 21.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Chinook Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (743 to 746); teachers up 1% (37.5 to 38).
About Chinook Middle School
Lacey, Washington, is home to Chinook Middle School, a medium-sized middle school. The student body numbers 746 students, from grades 6 through 8. An average school in this group (middle schools in Washington) has about 577 students.
Enrollment across the 24 schools in North Thurston Public Schools totals 15,167 students.
At Chinook Middle School, the largest share of students is White, at 38%. After that, the student body is 29% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, 9% Asian, and 6% Black. Census figures show Thurston County is about 72% White. The school's diversity index is 74%, meaning two students picked at random have a 74% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.6:1 at Chinook Middle School, with 38 full-time-equivalent teachers. On average, middle schools in Washington have 18.9:1, compared with 19.6:1 here. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 55% of enrollment. It compares with 43% for public schools in Thurston County.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 38.8%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 43.0%.
Thurston County census figures show that the median household income is $96,563, about 39% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. Thurston County is home to 86 public schools and about 44,412 public school students.
Nearby, Envision Career Academy is about 0.1 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Local comparison: Chinook Middle School ranks 4th of 5 nearby schools, at 38.8% versus a 42.7% average.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Small.
2024-25 enrollment was 746, an 8% decrease from 813 in 2020-21. By 2024-25, the school had 19.6 students per teacher, compared with 20.9 in 2020-21.
If you have questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Chinook Middle School, you can post them here. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Thurston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
299,067
Census ACS
Median income
$96,563
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
86
44,412 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in North Thurston Public Schools
- River Ridge High SchoolHigh · 1,547 students
- Timberline High SchoolHigh · 1,401 students
- North Thurston High SchoolHigh · 1,378 students
- Nisqually Middle SchoolMiddle · 789 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 776 students
- Meadows ElementaryElementary · 765 students
Other schools in Lacey
- River Ridge High SchoolHigh · 1,547 students
- Timberline High SchoolHigh · 1,401 students
- North Thurston High SchoolHigh · 1,378 students
- Nisqually Middle SchoolMiddle · 789 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 776 students
- Meadows ElementaryElementary · 765 students
Other Chinook Middle schools
3 other US public schools in 1 state are named Chinook Middle. Chinook Middle School is the 3rd largest of the 4.
- Chinook Middle SchoolKennewick, WA · 950 students
- Chinook Middle SchoolBellevue, WA · 752 students
- Chinook Middle SchoolSeaTac, WA · 620 students
Nearby schools
- Envision Career Academy0.1 mi · 139
- Summit VIrtual Academy0.2 mi · 355
- North Thurston High School0.3 mi · 1,378
- Ignite Family Academy0.3 mi · 100
- Pleasant Glade Elementary0.6 mi · 559
- Mountain View Elementary1.7 mi · 776
Frequently asked questions
About Chinook Middle SchoolHow many students attend Chinook Middle School?
Chinook Middle School enrolls approximately 746 students in grades 06-08.
Is Chinook Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Chinook Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Chinook Middle School?
Approximately 19.6:1 students per teacher at Chinook Middle School.
How diverse is Chinook Middle School?
Chinook Middle School reports a student body of 38% White, 29% Hispanic, 6% Black, 9% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Is Chinook Middle School public or private?
Chinook Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by North Thurston Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.