Is Centennial Elementary a good school?

Centennial Elementary ranks 203 rd of 1168 Washington elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Centennial Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 450 students attended Centennial Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Centennial Elementary?

Students at Centennial Elementary are 61% White, 13% Asian, 12% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 2% African American, 1% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Centennial Elementary attend?

Students who attend Centennial Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Washington Middle School High : Olympia High School

Centennial Elementary

Summary:

Centennial Elementary is a public elementary school in Olympia, Washington, serving 478 students in grades PK-5 and part of the Olympia School District, which is ranked 45 out of 247 districts in the state.

Centennial Elementary consistently outperforms the Olympia School District and the state of Washington in standardized test scores across all grades and subjects. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, 71.01% of Centennial students were proficient or better in SBAC/English Language Arts, compared to 62.31% for the Olympia School District and 52.63% for the state. The school's performance is particularly strong in 3rd grade, where 79.49% of students were proficient or better in SBAC/English Language Arts, compared to 56.08% for the district and 48.89% for the state. Centennial also excels in SBAC/Math and WCAS/Science, outperforming the district and state averages. The school has a strong track record of supporting diverse student populations, ranking highly for Hispanic and Asian students, but its performance for special education students is relatively lower.

Centennial Elementary's relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 14.5 to 16.2 over the past three school years, and increased per-student spending, from $9,977 in 2019-2020 to $17,079 in 2021-2022, suggest that the school is well-resourced and able to provide a supportive learning environment for its students. The lower percentage of free and reduced-price lunch recipients at Centennial, ranging from 14.54% to 17.78% over the past three school years, compared to nearby schools like Chambers Prairie Elementary School and Lakes Elementary School, may indicate a more affluent student population, which could contribute to the school's strong academic performance.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

2637 45th Ave SE
Olympia, WA 98501-4864

(360) 596-8300

District: Olympia School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
203^rd of 1,168 Washington Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,079

Students who attend Centennial Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Washington Middle School
High:	Olympia High School

Student/teacher ratio: 16.9

Number of students: 450

Racial breakdown:

White:

61.1%

Asian:

12.7%

Hispanic:

12.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 21.1%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Centennial Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Centennial Elementary ranks better than 82.6% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks 2^nd among 11 ranked elementary schools in the Olympia School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 81.53. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Centennial Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Olympia School District. Student population at Centennial Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (61.1%), Asian (12.7%), Hispanic (12.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 21.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Centennial Elementary is 16.9. 7 elementary schools in the Olympia School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Centennial Elementary employs 26.5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Centennial Elementary is $17,079. 8 elementary schools in the Olympia School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Centennial Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Centennial Elementary 203^rd of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Centennial Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Olympia School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Olympia School District 45^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Centennial Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	88.04	79^th	1026	92.3%
2005	84.67	119^th	1031	88.5%
2006	93.74	22^nd	1051	97.9%
2007	92.59	42^nd	1069	96.1%
2008	91.73	45^th	1067	95.8%
2009	92.57	38^th	1072	96.5%
2010	90.55	59^th	1088	94.6%
2011	91.23	51^st	1092	95.3%
2012	89.91	57^th	1097	94.8%
2013	87.00	82^nd	1106	92.6%
2015	85.08	132^nd	1067	87.6%
2016	86.48	125^th	1053	88.1%
2017	86.46	121^st	1056	88.5%
2018	88.77	98^th	1054	90.7%
2019	90.08	84^th	1130	92.6%
2021	88.65	123^rd	1107	88.9%
2022	85.32	164^th	1169	86.0%
2023	83.55	184^th	1169	84.3%
2024	81.53	203^rd	1168	82.6%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	77.24	46^th	252	81.7%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	71.28	118^th	637	81.5%
2019	61.43	152^nd	566	73.1%
2022	71.77	83^rd	478	82.6%
2023	57.22	110^th	308	64.3%
2024	47.80	174^th	339	48.7%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	88.86	19^th	835	97.7%
2019	84.80	54^th	979	94.5%
2021	73.44	138^th	854	83.8%
2022	81.27	83^rd	1019	91.9%
2023	70.18	229^th	1013	77.4%
2024	73.15	194^th	1024	81.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	84.71	125^th	1004	87.5%
2019	88.53	89^th	1068	91.7%
2021	82.47	156^th	1008	84.5%
2022	81.57	181^st	1100	83.5%
2023	79.17	205^th	1094	81.3%
2024	76.78	227^th	1093	79.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	90.49	74^th	999	92.6%
2019	91.12	67^th	1075	93.8%
2021	91.97	88^th	1025	91.4%
2022	87.69	120^th	1113	89.2%
2023	85.84	145^th	1099	86.8%
2024	82.73	170^th	1099	84.5%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	80.82	32^nd	169	81.1%
2019	78.42	42^nd	201	79.1%
2022	81.64	33^rd	187	82.4%
2023	65.96	61^st	170	64.1%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	90.37	34^th	540	93.7%
2019	98.58	5^th	697	99.3%
2023	84.90	49^th	633	92.3%
2024	79.71	88^th	651	86.5%

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

Rank History for White students at Centennial Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	80.47	134^th	833	83.9%
2019	83.36	133^rd	1027	87.0%
2021	85.04	112^th	943	88.1%
2022	76.82	221^st	1031	78.6%
2023	76.29	228^th	1011	77.4%
2024	80.00	176^th	1009	82.6%

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: 3)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Friday, April 15, 2016

It was not that long ago that I believed this was the top elementary school in the State. However, over that past two years the quality of education and standards has dropped visibly. First it was the Passport and geography program. Many students just did not study for the test and so the school, instead of enforcing the standards and holding students accountable for their studies decided to succumb to the lazy and made it voluntary and during recess....oh, that will make sure kids are inspired to study. My daughter is now in 4th grade and preparing (theoretically) for Middle School. How does Centennial get them ready? Well, the teacher stopped sending home homework at Christmas....have not seen any since. Apparently the school feels that homework would interfere with the kids video games and TV time and so they do not want them to stress over homework. Again, emphasizing progress.....my 4th grade daughter is doing the same math she was doing in 2nd and 3rd grade. Very disappointing. During Spring Break we travelled and took a friend of my daughter who is in the same class. She had no clue how to perform division problems because she had not been taught division yet...I mean we are at the end of 4th grade and they have not done division yet. Reading Olympics are no longer reading Olympics....just reading. Kids were required during February to read 100 minutes a week at home (14 minutes a day)....the kids could not count minutes read at school. My daughter read 4,400 minutes. Those kids who did not turn in reading slips - they got to read at school and count their minutes. Now that will ensure these kids read at home. It seems the new answer is to teach at the lowest level, discourage learning standards and allow the lazy to decide the standards for those who really want to excel. I am so disappointed this year! Having said that the Music and PE programs are top notch as is the Office Staff. If you were expecting your kids to learn excellence here this year, think again. You will have to greatly supplement learning at home if you want your kid to be ready for Middle School....assuming of course Washington Middle School is still a place of learning and instruction with some semblance of standards. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Centennial Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1991	532	3	34	7	3	n/a	n/a	0	579
1992	557	1	33	9	3	n/a	n/a	0	603
1993	553	4	41	2	7	n/a	n/a	0	607
1994	438	5	29	8	3	n/a	n/a	0	483
1995	334	6	27	3	5	n/a	n/a	0	375
1996	334	6	27	3	5	n/a	n/a	0	375
1997	351	10	26	2	2	n/a	n/a	0	391
1998	352	8	35	6	6	n/a	n/a	0	407
1999	343	5	43	4	6	n/a	n/a	0	401
2000	348	8	39	8	7	n/a	n/a	0	410
2001	367	11	37	13	7	n/a	n/a	0	435
2002	350	6	44	19	4	n/a	n/a	0	423
2003	350	6	44	19	4	n/a	n/a	0	423
2004	348	7	55	20	5	n/a	n/a	0	435
2005	351	12	62	19	4	n/a	n/a	0	448
2006	358	13	71	19	2	n/a	n/a	8	471
2007	340	6	81	18	2	n/a	n/a	21	468
2008	347	6	92	10	2	n/a	n/a	28	485
2009	339	6	85	12	2	n/a	n/a	39	483
2010	337	7	82	15	3	n/a	n/a	51	495
2011	332	3	72	49	5	0	23	0	484
2012	302	2	73	45	3	1	46	0	472
2013	315	9	67	52	2	3	41	0	489
2014	324	12	63	59	1	1	52	0	512
2015	334	9	71	54	1	0	61	0	530
2016	341	8	66	43	0	0	56	0	514
2017	330	12	68	48	1	2	64	0	525
2018	327	9	63	63	0	2	64	0	528
2019	319	9	68	52	0	2	61	0	511
2020	326	14	62	52	0	1	74	0	529
2021	295	12	64	55	0	1	56	0	483
2022	273	14	51	54	0	2	51	2	447
2023	299	14	62	52	0	1	50	0	478
2024	275	10	57	56	0	5	47	0	450

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 Centennial Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1991	579	25.0	23.1	n/a
1992	603	24.0	25.1	n/a
1993	607	27.0	22.5	n/a
1994	483	22.8	21.2	n/a
1995	375	16.5	22.7	n/a
1996	375	16.5	22.7	n/a
1997	391	17.0	23.0	n/a
1998	407	18.0	22.6	n/a
1999	401	17.6	22.8	n/a
2000	410	17.8	23.0	n/a
2001	435	17.6	24.7	n/a
2002	423	21.3	19.9	7.3
2003	423	21.3	19.9	7.3
2004	435	22.0	19.8	8.5
2005	448	21.9	20.5	8.9
2006	471	18.4	25.6	9.1
2007	468	18.7	25.0	9.8
2008	485	23.6	20.6	9.8
2009	483	21.5	22.5	11.5
2010	495	23.2	21.3	15.5
2011	484	22.2	21.8	14
2012	472	21.9	21.4	12.3
2013	489	22.3	21.8	13.7
2014	512	n/a	n/a	18.2
2015	530	29.0	18.2	17.9
2016	514	25.0	20.5	18.3
2017	525	26.1	20.1	14.9
2018	528	27.0	19.5	14.4
2019	511	27.2	18.7	12.5
2020	529	28.8	18.3	16.6
2021	483	29.6	16.2	16.6
2022	447	30.7	14.5	14.5
2023	478	29.8	16.0	17.8
2024	450	26.5	16.9	21.1

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 Centennial Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1991	579	25.0	23.1	n/a
1992	603	24.0	25.1	n/a
1993	607	27.0	22.5	n/a
1994	483	22.8	21.2	n/a
1995	375	16.5	22.7	n/a
1996	375	16.5	22.7	n/a
1997	391	17.0	23.0	n/a
1998	407	18.0	22.6	n/a
1999	401	17.6	22.8	n/a
2000	410	17.8	23.0	n/a
2001	435	17.6	24.7	n/a
2002	423	21.3	19.9	7.3
2003	423	21.3	19.9	7.3
2004	435	22.0	19.8	8.5
2005	448	21.9	20.5	8.9
2006	471	18.4	25.6	9.1
2007	468	18.7	25.0	9.8
2008	485	23.6	20.6	9.8
2009	483	21.5	22.5	11.5
2010	495	23.2	21.3	15.5
2011	484	22.2	21.8	14
2012	472	21.9	21.4	12.3
2013	489	22.3	21.8	13.7
2014	512	n/a	n/a	18.2
2015	530	29.0	18.2	17.9
2016	514	25.0	20.5	18.3
2017	525	26.1	20.1	14.9
2018	528	27.0	19.5	14.4
2019	511	27.2	18.7	12.5
2020	529	28.8	18.3	16.6
2021	483	29.6	16.2	16.6
2022	447	30.7	14.5	14.5
2023	478	29.8	16.0	17.8
2024	450	26.5	16.9	21.1

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.

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