Is Chester H Thompson Elementary a good school?

Chester H Thompson Elementary ranks 781 st of 1168 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Chester H Thompson Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 624 students attended Chester H Thompson Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Chester H Thompson Elementary?

Students at Chester H Thompson Elementary are 44% Hispanic, 22% White, 16% Two or more races, 7% African American, 7% Pacific Islander, 2% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Chester H Thompson Elementary attend?

Students who attend Chester H Thompson Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Spanaway Middle School High : Spanaway Lake High School

Chester H Thompson Elementary

Summary:

Chester H Thompson Elementary is a public elementary school in Tacoma, Washington, serving students from kindergarten to 5th grade as part of the Bethel School District. The school faces significant academic and demographic challenges, with lower test scores, declining statewide rankings, and a student population that is more racially diverse and economically disadvantaged compared to nearby schools.

Chester H Thompson Elementary has a notably higher percentage of Hispanic (44.23%) and Pacific Islander (7.05%) students compared to the nearby Elmhurst Elementary School, Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School, and other local schools. However, the school's academic performance, as measured by SBAC and WCAS test scores, is generally lower than the district and state averages, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts (43.75%) and Math (35.91%) trailing the Bethel School District (49.89% and 36.67%) and the state of Washington (52.63% and 41.68%).

The school's statewide ranking has declined over the years, from being ranked 273 out of 1,054 Washington elementary schools in 2017-2018 to 781 out of 1,168 in 2023-2024. This decline suggests that the school's academic performance has not kept pace with the state's overall improvement. Additionally, the school's high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 61.71% to 68.27%, indicates that the school serves a predominantly low-income community, which may contribute to the academic challenges faced by the school.

Detail:

Public K-5

303 159th St E
Tacoma, WA 98445-1199

(253) 800-5800

District: Bethel School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
781^st of 1,168 Washington Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,591

Students who attend Chester H Thompson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Spanaway Middle School
High:	Spanaway Lake High School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.8

Number of students: 624

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

44.2%

White:

22.0%

Two or more races:

16.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 68.3%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Chester H Thompson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Chester H Thompson Elementary ranks worse than 66.9% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks 15^th among 18 ranked elementary schools in the Bethel School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 32.8. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Chester H Thompson Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (44.2%), White (22%), two or more races (16.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 68.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Chester H Thompson Elementary is 13.8, which is the 4^th best among 18 elementary schools in the Bethel School District. (See more...)

Compare Chester H Thompson Elementary employs 44.9 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Chester H Thompson Elementary is $20,591, which is the 4^th highest among 18 elementary schools in the Bethel School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Chester H Thompson Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Chester H Thompson Elementary 781^st of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Chester H Thompson Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Pacific Islander students:

White students:

Bethel School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Bethel School District 141^st of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Chester H Thompson Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	26.68	807^th	1026	21.3%
2005	33.84	731^st	1031	29.1%
2006	22.83	882^nd	1051	16.1%
2007	23.01	889^th	1069	16.8%
2008	26.46	855^th	1067	19.9%
2009	12.14	997^th	1072	7.0%
2010	13.64	1007^th	1088	7.4%
2011	30.47	842^nd	1092	22.9%
2012	24.38	914^th	1097	16.7%
2013	24.90	904^th	1106	18.3%
2015	28.33	808^th	1067	24.3%
2016	50.16	535^th	1053	49.2%
2017	74.36	260^th	1056	75.4%
2018	73.44	273^rd	1054	74.1%
2019	67.41	364^th	1130	67.8%
2021	30.85	741^st	1107	33.1%
2022	41.76	656^th	1169	43.9%
2023	32.53	796^th	1169	31.9%
2024	32.80	781^st	1168	33.1%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	65.06	74^th	212	65.1%
2019	66.16	87^th	303	71.3%
2021	22.42	101^st	128	21.1%
2022	47.03	139^th	252	44.8%
2023	47.63	103^rd	194	46.9%
2024	28.92	151^st	188	19.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2022	25.95	185^th	213	13.1%
2023	38.82	140^th	254	44.9%
2024	60.02	103^rd	320	67.8%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	61.43	177^th	637	72.2%
2019	65.83	133^rd	566	76.5%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	85.25	40^th	835	95.2%
2019	89.48	29^th	979	97.0%
2021	40.75	492^nd	854	42.4%
2022	53.87	417^th	1019	59.1%
2023	37.68	649^th	1013	35.9%
2024	48.93	519^th	1024	49.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	78.68	192^nd	1004	80.9%
2019	63.40	391^st	1068	63.4%
2021	35.90	623^rd	1008	38.2%
2022	45.27	571^st	1100	48.1%
2023	29.39	796^th	1094	27.2%
2024	27.64	815^th	1093	25.4%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	66.11	332^nd	999	66.8%
2019	71.86	293^rd	1075	72.7%
2021	25.02	776^th	1025	24.3%
2022	37.76	668^th	1113	40.0%
2023	34.73	711^th	1099	35.3%
2024	38.19	674^th	1099	38.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	93.56	22^nd	540	95.9%
2019	92.60	24^th	697	96.6%
2021	43.56	245^th	501	51.1%
2022	50.64	293^rd	694	57.8%
2023	47.72	329^th	633	48.0%
2024	43.75	378^th	651	41.9%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Pacific Islander students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2019	86.02	1^st	5	80.0%
2022	49.57	3^rd	3	0.0%
2024	54.69	2^nd	3	33.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Pacific Islander Students!

Rank History for White students at Chester H Thompson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	58.29	356^th	833	57.3%
2019	52.32	512^th	1027	50.1%
2021	49.38	470^th	943	50.2%
2022	56.48	428^th	1031	58.5%
2023	40.39	610^th	1011	39.7%
2024	33.14	709^th	1009	29.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Wednesday, March 4, 2020

My kid went to this school and they were cussing. He was only 6! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Chester H Thompson Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	363	49	52	22	13	n/a	n/a	0	499
1989	405	48	64	27	8	n/a	n/a	0	552
1990	403	64	60	32	7	n/a	n/a	0	566
1991	346	62	62	23	7	n/a	n/a	0	500
1992	307	54	67	20	10	n/a	n/a	0	458
1993	268	55	55	13	11	n/a	n/a	0	402
1994	299	61	59	24	11	n/a	n/a	0	454
1995	256	70	94	34	1	n/a	n/a	0	455
1996	256	70	94	34	1	n/a	n/a	0	455
1997	277	69	89	30	7	n/a	n/a	0	472
1998	302	48	66	32	8	n/a	n/a	0	456
1999	291	44	60	27	8	n/a	n/a	0	430
2000	317	58	54	30	9	n/a	n/a	0	468
2001	297	54	54	38	15	n/a	n/a	0	458
2002	275	50	60	33	17	n/a	n/a	0	435
2003	275	50	60	33	17	n/a	n/a	0	435
2004	297	75	56	33	21	n/a	n/a	0	482
2005	273	74	67	37	19	n/a	n/a	0	470
2006	255	75	43	53	18	n/a	n/a	0	444
2007	277	96	55	74	10	n/a	n/a	0	512
2008	276	89	49	78	11	n/a	n/a	0	503
2009	273	101	46	93	13	n/a	n/a	0	526
2010	312	135	57	119	18	n/a	n/a	0	641
2011	294	126	44	101	13	25	22	0	625
2012	293	95	33	128	12	31	41	0	633
2013	261	68	31	149	8	50	66	0	633
2014	230	52	18	138	7	46	82	0	573
2015	209	54	14	130	5	37	75	0	524
2016	194	57	11	150	2	53	87	0	554
2017	198	50	9	180	5	50	88	0	580
2018	204	40	9	217	4	48	99	0	621
2019	205	45	12	231	4	51	104	0	652
2020	227	49	14	258	8	56	118	0	730
2021	199	46	17	286	4	57	109	0	718
2022	147	47	10	275	6	38	108	1	632
2023	137	45	13	276	6	44	102	1	624

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Chester H Thompson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	499	22.0	22.6	0
1989	552	22.0	25.0	n/a
1990	566	24.1	23.4	0
1991	500	25.6	19.5	n/a
1992	458	25.5	17.9	n/a
1993	402	21.5	18.7	n/a
1994	454	22.4	20.3	n/a
1995	455	20.5	22.2	n/a
1996	455	20.5	22.2	n/a
1997	472	21.6	21.9	n/a
1998	456	21.8	20.9	n/a
1999	430	20.7	20.8	n/a
2000	468	22.3	21.0	n/a
2001	458	24.5	18.7	n/a
2002	435	24.3	17.9	45.3
2003	435	24.3	17.9	45.3
2004	482	26.0	18.5	54.4
2005	470	25.7	18.3	52.6
2006	444	24.7	18.0	59.2
2007	512	28.7	17.8	69.9
2008	503	29.8	16.9	74.6
2009	526	29.8	17.7	70.3
2010	641	38.8	16.5	73.6
2011	625	38.7	16.1	41.3
2012	633	34.7	18.2	69.7
2013	633	36.8	17.1	58.8
2014	573	n/a	n/a	72.1
2015	524	39.0	13.4	76.5
2016	554	34.0	16.2	67.3
2017	580	35.9	16.1	79.1
2018	621	37.6	16.5	68.8
2019	652	45.3	14.3	70.2
2020	730	50.4	14.4	68.5
2021	718	52.6	13.6	64.2
2022	632	46.7	13.5	61.7
2023	624	44.9	13.8	68.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Chester H Thompson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	499	22.0	22.6	0
1989	552	22.0	25.0	n/a
1990	566	24.1	23.4	0
1991	500	25.6	19.5	n/a
1992	458	25.5	17.9	n/a
1993	402	21.5	18.7	n/a
1994	454	22.4	20.3	n/a
1995	455	20.5	22.2	n/a
1996	455	20.5	22.2	n/a
1997	472	21.6	21.9	n/a
1998	456	21.8	20.9	n/a
1999	430	20.7	20.8	n/a
2000	468	22.3	21.0	n/a
2001	458	24.5	18.7	n/a
2002	435	24.3	17.9	45.3
2003	435	24.3	17.9	45.3
2004	482	26.0	18.5	54.4
2005	470	25.7	18.3	52.6
2006	444	24.7	18.0	59.2
2007	512	28.7	17.8	69.9
2008	503	29.8	16.9	74.6
2009	526	29.8	17.7	70.3
2010	641	38.8	16.5	73.6
2011	625	38.7	16.1	41.3
2012	633	34.7	18.2	69.7
2013	633	36.8	17.1	58.8
2014	573	n/a	n/a	72.1
2015	524	39.0	13.4	76.5
2016	554	34.0	16.2	67.3
2017	580	35.9	16.1	79.1
2018	621	37.6	16.5	68.8
2019	652	45.3	14.3	70.2
2020	730	50.4	14.4	68.5
2021	718	52.6	13.6	64.2
2022	632	46.7	13.5	61.7
2023	624	44.9	13.8	68.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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