Summary:
La Grande, Oregon has four public schools serving roughly 1,721 students across grades K–12 — two elementary schools (K–5), one middle school (6–8), and one high school (9–12), all part of La Grande School District 1, which ranks 70th of 141 Oregon districts at the 50th percentile with 3 stars.
Central Elementary School is the city's strongest balanced school: the only one above the state in all three tested subjects (ELA 45.9% vs. 43.8%, math 39.5% vs. 32.9%, science 37.3% vs. 30.6%), consistently rated 3 stars (60th percentile), and with the lowest chronic absenteeism at 20.1%. Greenwood Elementary School is the clearest concern, rated 1 star in all three years (percentiles 11, 15, 17) and below district and state in every subject (ELA 29.8%, math 23.8%, science 13.8%), with 36.4% absenteeism. La Grande High School shows a sharp split: a 93.8% graduation rate (state 83.0%) and the city's top science score (44.4%), but the lowest ELA (28.6%) and math (15.0%) and the highest absenteeism (42.9%). La Grande Middle School is stable but mixed at 45th percentile with 2 stars, with ELA near the state (42.5%) while math (26.5%) and science (22.8%) lag.
Two patterns stand out for families. First, attendance generally tracks achievement: the school with the lowest absenteeism has the best balanced scores, while the two with the highest absenteeism have the weakest ELA and math results. Second, resources do not simply predict outcomes — the high school spends the most per student ($19,600) yet has the lowest ELA and math proficiency, and Greenwood spends more than Central ($18,077 vs. $17,466) with the smallest classes (12.9 students per teacher) yet the lowest scores. Free/reduced lunch rates are similar across all four schools, ranging from 63.08% to 65.76%.
Thank you for your feedback!