1
What's the one class at Olympia High School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,901
High
DISTRICT 848 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OLYMPIA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530618000937
Olympia High School
1302 NORTH ST SE, OLYMPIA, WA 98501 · (360) 596-7000 · Thurston County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL1,901 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
23.0:1
83 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
431 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 487 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 474 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 470 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 470 | 25% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
76.0%
WA avg 58.4% . +54.3pp since 2014
Math
51.0%
WA avg 51.2% . +35.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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 54 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 35 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.0% | 51.0% |
| 2023-24 | 78.5% | 54.5% |
| 2022-23 | 75.6% | 53.8% |
| 2021-22 | 80.8% | 55.5% |
| 2018-19 | 88.8% | 70.1% |
| 2017-18 | 88.9% | 69.6% |
| 2016-17 | 17.9% | 10.8% |
| 2015-16 | 14.3% | 12.5% |
| 2014-15 | 21.6% | 15.5% |
% 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
60.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.0%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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 Olympia High School
Olympia High School's state test result (60.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympia High School this school | 1,901 | 22.7% | 60.6% |
| Glacier Peak High School Snohomish | 1,642 | 18.1% | 56.0% |
| Tahoma Senior High School Maple Valley | 2,919 | 19.3% | 58.3% |
| Camas High School Camas | 2,026 | 18.1% | N/A |
| Roosevelt High School SEATTLE | 1,542 | 18.2% | 63.4% |
| Bothell High School Bothell | 1,740 | 23.3% | 54.1% |
Matched among Washington high 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 Olympia High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Thurston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.6% | #28 of 271 | #1 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.0% | #36 of 321 ▼ 9 | #1 of 11 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.0% | #50 of 327 ▼ 6 | #2 of 11 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.7pp | #68 of 259 | #2 of 11 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,901 | #30 of 570 | #1 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.0:1 | #261 of 311 | #10 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.2% | #135 of 316 | #6 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.7% | #350 of 386 | #15 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.5% | #105 of 136 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,901
+28 (+1%) vs 2020
+56% since 1990-91, when it was 1,215
Student : Teacher
23.0:1
was 23.7:1
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 | 1,901 | 82.8 | 23.0:1 | 23% (431) |
| 2023-24 | 1,828 | 79.2 | 23.1:1 | 22% (408) |
| 2022-23 | 1,838 | 81.2 | 22.6:1 | 21% (388) |
| 2020-21 | 1,873 | 79 | 23.7:1 | 16% (296) |
| 2017-18 | 1,836 | 83.1 | 22.1:1 | 18% (322) |
| 2015-16 | 1,832 | 80 | 22.9:1 | 20% (358) |
| 2010-11 | 1,725 | 74 | 23.3:1 | 17% (294) |
| 2000-01 | 1,646 | 73 | 22.6:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,215 | 55 | 22.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Olympia High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (1,836 to 1,901); teachers unchanged (83.1 to 82.8).
About Olympia High School
Olympia High School is a large high school serving families in OLYMPIA, Washington. The student body numbers 1,901 students, from grades 9 through 12. An average school in this group (high schools in Washington) has about 573 students.
Enrollment across the 20 schools in Olympia School District totals 9,386 students.
White students make up a majority at Olympia High School, at 60%. The remaining students are 12% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 10% multiracial, and 2% Black. Census figures show Thurston County is about 72% White. Pick two students at random and there is a 57% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Federal staffing data show 82.8 full-time-equivalent teachers at Olympia High School and a ratio of 23.0:1. This ratio sits 1.4 above the 21.6:1 average for high schools in Washington. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 23% of students. The 43% average for public schools in Thurston County is 20 points higher.
Schools in Washington with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 65.0%. Olympia High School scores 60.6%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Thurston County, the median household income is $96,563, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Olympia High School is one of 86 public schools in the county.
The next-closest public school is Pioneer Elementary School, about 0.3 miles away. Olympia High School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Local comparison: Olympia High School ranks 4th of 7 nearby schools, at 60.6% versus a 60.0% average.
The school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, according to its NCES locale (City: Small).
In 2020-21, Olympia High School enrolled 1,873; in 2024-25, 1,901.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Olympia High School covering things like sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 Olympia School District
- Capital High SchoolHigh · 1,322 students
- Washington Middle SchoolMiddle · 702 students
- Thurgood Marshall Middle SchoolMiddle · 469 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolMiddle · 462 students
- Centennial ElementaryElementary · 434 students
- Julia Butler Hansen ElementaryElementary · 412 students
Other schools in OLYMPIA
- Capital High SchoolHigh · 1,322 students
- Washington Middle SchoolMiddle · 702 students
- Griffin SchoolElementary · 585 students
- East Olympia ElementaryElementary · 579 students
- Thurgood Marshall Middle SchoolMiddle · 469 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolMiddle · 462 students
Other Olympia High schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Olympia High. Olympia High School is the 2nd largest of the 4.
- OLYMPIA HIGHORLANDO, FL · 2,901 students
- OLYMPIA HIGH SCHOOLROCHESTER, NY · 1,090 students
- Olympia High SchoolStanford, IL · 495 students
Nearby schools
- Pioneer Elementary School0.3 mi · 384
- Washington Middle School0.8 mi · 702
- Lincoln Elementary School1.1 mi · 300
- McKenny Elementary1.3 mi · 322
- Centennial Elementary1.4 mi · 434
- Olympia Regional Learning Academy1.5 mi · 345
Frequently asked questions
About Olympia High SchoolHow many students attend Olympia High School?
Olympia High School enrolls approximately 1,901 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Olympia High School serve?
Olympia High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Olympia High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Olympia High School is approximately 23.0:1 (83 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Olympia High School?
At Olympia High School, the student body is approximately 60% White, 12% Hispanic, 2% Black, 11% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Olympia High School in?
Olympia High School is part of Olympia School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.