Best High Schools in Independence, OR

The city of Independence, Oregon is home to a single public high school, Central High School, which serves grades 9-12 and has an enrollment of 1,014 students. The school is part of the Central School District 13J, which is ranked 127 out of 140 school districts in the state and has a rating of 0 out of 5 stars from SchoolDigger.

Central High School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Oregon high schools in recent years, with its academic performance well below the state average. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 25.2% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, 7.1% in Mathematics, and 14.4% in Science. The school's performance has declined in recent years, with proficiency rates dropping in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. Additionally, the school has a 4-year graduation rate of 81.8%, which is below the state average, and a chronic absenteeism rate of 34.3%, significantly higher than the state average.

The high percentage of students (70.12%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch at Central High School indicates a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population. Despite the school district spending $18,222 per student, which is higher than the state average, the school's academic performance remains poor, suggesting that simply increasing funding may not be enough to address the challenges faced by the school and its students.