Best Public Schools in Gladstone, OR

Gladstone, Oregon is served by four schools — two elementary-level programs, one middle school, and one high school — all within Gladstone School District 115, enrolling about 1,600 students in total across grades PK–12. The district is ranked 83rd of 141 in Oregon, placing it at the 41st percentile with 2 stars, and its schools take very different paths through that middle ground.

John Wetten Elementary School (grades 1–5, 589 students) has the best attendance in the city, with chronic absenteeism at 26.4% against the district's 31.3% and the state's 33.5%, plus math at 32.9% (matching the state) and science at 33.6% (above the state's 30.6%). Its 3rd grade math hits 50.4% versus the state's 41.3%, but math slides to 29.8% in 4th grade and 17.6% in 5th, well below the state's 32.4%. Gladstone High School (grades 9–12, 559 students) is the most improved school, rising from the 35th percentile / 2 stars in 2024–2025 to 55th / 3 stars in 2025–2026 — the only Gladstone school above the 50th percentile — and its 83.8% graduation rate edges the state's 83.0%. It also carries the city's highest absenteeism (36.8%) and student-teacher ratio (20.5). Walter L Kraxberger Middle School (grades 6–8, 343 students) is the biggest concern, falling from 52nd percentile / 3 stars to 25th / 1 star, with ELA at 36.1%, math at 17.2%, and science at 19.3%.

Two patterns stand out. ELA is below state at every grade level reported, and math is the deepest gap — only John Wetten's 3rd grade math beats the state. Gladstone Center for Children and Families (PK–K, 109 students) has no test scores or rank history; it stands out as a high-need program with the highest free/reduced lunch rate (82.57%), highest per-student spending ($27,129), and lowest student-teacher ratio (14.1). Notably, the three tested schools have nearly identical free/reduced lunch rates (62.48% to 62.79%), and higher spending or smaller classes do not line up with stronger results.