Is Nisqually Middle School a good school?

Nisqually Middle School ranks in the bottom 18.7% of Washington middle schools.

How many students attend Nisqually Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 815 students attended Nisqually Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Nisqually Middle School?

Students at Nisqually Middle School are 43% White, 25% Hispanic, 15% Two or more races, 7% Asian, 6% African American, 3% Pacific Islander.

What high school do graduates of Nisqually Middle School attend?

Students who attend Nisqually Middle School usually go on to attend River Ridge High School

Nisqually Middle School

Summary:

Nisqually Middle School is a public middle school located in Lacey, Washington, serving 831 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the North Thurston Public Schools district, which is ranked 118 out of 247 districts in the state.

Nisqually Middle School consistently underperforms compared to the district and state in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math proficiency. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 37.33% of Nisqually students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 50.97% for the district and 52.63% for the state. In Math, the proficiency rate was just 18.95% at Nisqually, compared to 37.84% for the district and 41.68% for the state. The school has a low statewide ranking, placing in the bottom quarter of Washington middle schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Nisqually also struggles to support the academic achievement of several student subgroups, ranking in the bottom quarter of Washington middle schools for Hispanic, White, and low socioeconomic status students.

When compared to other middle schools in the area, Nisqually stands out as an underperformer. For example, Aspire Middle School, also in the North Thurston district, consistently outperforms Nisqually across all subject areas and grade levels, ranking in the top 15% of Washington middle schools. The significant fluctuations in per-student spending at Nisqually, ranging from $7,935 in 2019-2020 to $15,194 in 2021-2022, may also be contributing to the school's academic challenges.

Detail:

Public 6-8

8100 Steilacoom Rd SE
Lacey, WA 98503-1998

(360) 412-4770

District: North Thurston Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
435^th of 535 Washington Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,194

Students who attend Nisqually Middle School usually attend:

High:

River Ridge High School

Feeder schools for Nisqually Middle School:

Elementary:	Evergreen Forest Elementary
	Lydia Hawk Elementary
	Seven Oaks Elementary
	Woodland Elementary

Student/teacher ratio: 18.1

Number of students: 815

Racial breakdown:

White:

42.8%

Hispanic:

24.9%

Two or more races:

15.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 52.1%

See top rated Washington middle schools

Compare Nisqually Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Nisqually Middle School ranks worse than 81.3% of middle schools in Washington. It also ranks last among 5 ranked middle schools in the North Thurston Public Schools District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.81. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Nisqually Middle School has the largest middle school student body size in the North Thurston Public Schools District. Student population at Nisqually Middle School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (42.8%), Hispanic (24.9%), two or more races (15.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 52.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Nisqually Middle School is 18.1, which is the 2^nd best among 5 middle schools in the North Thurston Public Schools District. (See more...)

Compare Nisqually Middle School employs 45 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Nisqually Middle School is $15,194, which is the 2^nd highest among 5 middle schools in the North Thurston Public Schools District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Nisqually Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Nisqually Middle School 435^th of 535 Washington public middle schools. (See Nisqually Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

North Thurston Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks North Thurston Public Schools 118^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Nisqually Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	41.98	259^th	421	38.5%
2005	39.66	280^th	425	34.1%
2006	56.54	184^th	449	59.0%
2007	54.88	193^rd	463	58.3%
2008	35.34	311^th	466	33.3%
2009	34.73	337^th	476	29.2%
2010	32.87	343^rd	483	29.0%
2011	41.81	312^th	492	36.6%
2012	44.53	290^th	497	41.6%
2013	46.88	274^th	498	45.0%
2015	39.22	265^th	445	40.4%
2016	34.49	291^st	443	34.3%
2017	43.99	243^rd	435	44.1%
2018	42.54	247^th	437	43.5%
2019	37.95	324^th	512	36.7%
2021	23.96	404^th	529	23.6%
2022	22.87	426^th	541	21.3%
2023	21.69	433^rd	539	19.7%
2024	21.81	435^th	535	18.7%

See the entire list of Washington Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	34.68	116^th	166	30.1%
2019	50.59	125^th	246	49.2%
2021	21.92	203^rd	250	18.8%
2022	19.85	220^th	257	14.4%
2023	22.83	200^th	244	18.0%
2024	26.73	189^th	243	22.2%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	52.31	89^th	268	66.8%
2019	27.44	179^th	231	22.5%
2021	25.50	173^rd	210	17.6%
2022	17.67	192^nd	199	3.5%
2023	16.64	156^th	167	6.6%
2024	24.03	135^th	179	24.6%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	41.58	210^th	349	39.8%
2019	39.71	278^th	448	37.9%
2021	29.61	335^th	458	26.9%
2022	24.74	388^th	475	18.3%
2023	22.98	377^th	463	18.6%
2024	19.73	389^th	455	14.5%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	56.50	17^th	59	71.2%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	45.38	203^rd	376	46.0%
2019	36.78	293^rd	452	35.2%
2021	23.81	367^th	469	21.7%
2022	22.81	377^th	479	21.3%
2023	13.94	411^th	464	11.4%
2024	18.10	396^th	464	14.7%

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

Rank History for Military Connected students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2019	27.29	43^rd	50	14.0%
2021	27.85	34^th	44	22.7%
2022	27.71	43^rd	51	15.7%
2023	31.71	35^th	40	12.5%
2024	23.06	40^th	46	13.0%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	35.89	241^st	371	35.0%
2019	39.55	271^st	453	40.2%
2021	26.03	355^th	476	25.4%
2022	23.72	380^th	480	20.8%
2023	29.36	338^th	470	28.1%
2024	25.22	352^nd	466	24.5%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	29.93	95^th	123	22.8%
2019	14.53	140^th	152	7.9%
2021	17.90	130^th	149	12.8%
2022	19.75	135^th	161	16.1%
2023	20.06	116^th	145	20.0%
2024	23.97	118^th	148	20.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	72.11	9^th	66	86.4%
2019	54.05	38^th	111	65.8%
2021	29.26	79^th	106	25.5%
2022	31.41	70^th	104	32.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	46.25	135^th	259	47.9%
2019	35.74	220^th	344	36.0%
2021	28.93	242^nd	353	31.4%
2022	27.14	270^th	360	25.0%
2023	21.97	271^st	336	19.3%
2024	28.24	253^rd	344	26.5%

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

Rank History for White students at Nisqually Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	31.22	229^th	325	29.5%
2019	36.45	326^th	470	30.6%
2021	22.17	396^th	480	17.5%
2022	23.49	396^th	488	18.9%
2023	23.39	389^th	488	20.3%
2024	16.49	427^th	486	12.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle 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

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Enrollment information for Nisqually Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	655	50	35	27	17	n/a	n/a	0	784
1989	690	48	58	35	15	n/a	n/a	0	846
1990	690	51	81	47	17	n/a	n/a	0	886
1991	703	70	90	40	21	n/a	n/a	0	924
1992	722	70	83	29	29	n/a	n/a	0	933
1993	462	65	86	32	24	n/a	n/a	0	669
1994	467	79	114	37	18	n/a	n/a	0	715
1995	416	84	98	40	36	n/a	n/a	0	674
1996	416	84	98	40	36	n/a	n/a	0	674
1997	410	81	106	31	31	n/a	n/a	0	659
1998	381	78	115	32	29	n/a	n/a	0	635
1999	359	74	96	35	22	n/a	n/a	0	586
2000	347	69	91	38	22	n/a	n/a	0	567
2001	354	58	88	36	16	n/a	n/a	0	552
2002	369	58	75	44	20	n/a	n/a	0	566
2003	369	58	75	44	20	n/a	n/a	0	566
2004	352	71	98	36	17	n/a	n/a	0	574
2005	371	67	103	56	21	n/a	n/a	0	618
2006	377	70	101	54	35	n/a	n/a	0	637
2007	353	82	90	52	34	n/a	n/a	6	617
2008	308	90	72	56	22	n/a	n/a	8	556
2009	317	89	69	62	25	n/a	n/a	7	569
2010	322	67	91	69	23	n/a	n/a	10	582
2011	292	56	55	82	17	8	52	0	562
2012	283	42	32	92	14	8	80	0	551
2013	253	33	40	128	9	9	85	0	557
2014	263	30	43	129	12	17	76	0	570
2015	355	45	50	190	17	24	124	0	805
2016	340	46	53	177	26	27	128	0	797
2017	406	43	59	152	16	24	110	0	810
2018	399	49	48	157	11	31	104	0	799
2019	415	49	47	175	14	27	121	0	848
2020	440	52	48	195	18	24	152	0	929
2021	382	52	48	207	22	30	171	0	912
2022	356	42	47	207	13	25	153	0	843
2023	328	43	60	220	13	34	131	2	831
2024	349	45	58	203	6	28	124	2	815

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 Nisqually Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	784	44.0	17.8	0
1989	846	45.0	18.8	n/a
1990	886	47.5	18.6	0
1991	924	48.5	19.0	n/a
1992	933	48.9	19.0	n/a
1993	669	54.0	12.4	n/a
1994	715	39.2	18.2	n/a
1995	674	37.0	18.2	n/a
1996	674	37.0	18.2	n/a
1997	659	36.3	18.2	n/a
1998	635	34.0	18.7	n/a
1999	586	34.0	17.2	n/a
2000	567	33.0	17.2	n/a
2001	552	31.2	17.7	n/a
2002	566	34.3	16.5	37.6
2003	566	34.3	16.5	37.6
2004	574	35.0	16.4	33.1
2005	618	34.8	17.8	39.2
2006	637	31.4	20.3	34.1
2007	617	33.8	18.3	36.5
2008	556	34.3	16.2	36.5
2009	569	34.3	16.6	41.8
2010	582	32.6	17.8	43.9
2011	562	34.5	16.2	29.4
2012	551	30.6	18.0	44.8
2013	557	29.0	19.1	43.6
2014	570	n/a	n/a	47.5
2015	805	43.0	18.7	54.3
2016	797	41.0	19.4	54.8
2017	810	40.6	19.9	46.8
2018	799	39.8	20.0	44.3
2019	848	41.8	20.2	48.5
2020	929	43.9	21.1	49.2
2021	912	49.2	18.5	50.5
2022	843	45.3	18.6	51.5
2023	831	48.3	17.1	57
2024	815	45.0	18.1	52.1

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 Nisqually Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	784	44.0	17.8	0
1989	846	45.0	18.8	n/a
1990	886	47.5	18.6	0
1991	924	48.5	19.0	n/a
1992	933	48.9	19.0	n/a
1993	669	54.0	12.4	n/a
1994	715	39.2	18.2	n/a
1995	674	37.0	18.2	n/a
1996	674	37.0	18.2	n/a
1997	659	36.3	18.2	n/a
1998	635	34.0	18.7	n/a
1999	586	34.0	17.2	n/a
2000	567	33.0	17.2	n/a
2001	552	31.2	17.7	n/a
2002	566	34.3	16.5	37.6
2003	566	34.3	16.5	37.6
2004	574	35.0	16.4	33.1
2005	618	34.8	17.8	39.2
2006	637	31.4	20.3	34.1
2007	617	33.8	18.3	36.5
2008	556	34.3	16.2	36.5
2009	569	34.3	16.6	41.8
2010	582	32.6	17.8	43.9
2011	562	34.5	16.2	29.4
2012	551	30.6	18.0	44.8
2013	557	29.0	19.1	43.6
2014	570	n/a	n/a	47.5
2015	805	43.0	18.7	54.3
2016	797	41.0	19.4	54.8
2017	810	40.6	19.9	46.8
2018	799	39.8	20.0	44.3
2019	848	41.8	20.2	48.5
2020	929	43.9	21.1	49.2
2021	912	49.2	18.5	50.5
2022	843	45.3	18.6	51.5
2023	831	48.3	17.1	57
2024	815	45.0	18.1	52.1

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.

6th Grade Immunization Rates