Summary:
Forest Grove, a community in western Washington County served by Forest Grove School District 15, has 9 schools — 5 elementary, 2 middle, and 2 high — educating about 4,931 students across grades PK through 12. The district is ranked 102 of 141 in Oregon (28th percentile) with a 1-star rating, and it serves a high-poverty population: 8 of 9 schools have free/reduced-lunch rates above 78%, the only exception being Forest Grove Community School at 31.68%.
The academic bright spot is Dilley Elementary School, rated 4 stars and 83rd percentile, with 55.9% proficiency in English language arts and 61.0% in math — well above both district and state, and achieved despite an 81.09% free/reduced-lunch rate. Forest Grove Community School has the city's best attendance at 15.7% chronic absenteeism, less than half the state rate. Forest Grove High School is the largest school (1,849 students) and graduates 84.0%, above the state's 83.0%, but its math proficiency of 14.3% is far below the state's 32.9%. Tuality Plains High School faces the steepest challenges: 80.9% chronic absenteeism, a 64.4% graduation rate, and proficiency under 5% in all subjects.
District-wide, results trail Oregon in every core subject (roughly 10.7 points in ELA, 10.9 in math, 8.5 in science), with science weak everywhere — no school exceeds the state's 30.6%. The weakest elementary is Fern Hill Elementary School at 10th percentile with 24.0% ELA and 38.5% absenteeism, despite the smallest student/teacher ratio. Spending does not track outcomes: Joseph Gale Elementary School spends the most ($23,584 per student) yet ranks 23rd percentile, though it is improving. Harvey Clarke Elementary School shows relative math strength and lower absenteeism, while Neil Armstrong Middle School and Tom McCall Upper Elementary both score below state, making middle grades a district weak point.
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