Summary:
Pendleton, Oregon has four elementary schools, all part of Pendleton School District 16: three K–5 schools — Sherwood Heights Elementary School (439 students), Washington Elementary School (420), and McKay Creek Elementary School (265) — plus the PK–K Pendleton Early Learning Center (197), for 1,321 students total. The district ranks 110th of 141 Oregon districts, at the 22nd percentile with 1 star, so most of these schools operate within a lower-performing district overall.
McKay Creek Elementary School is the clear standout. It earned 3 stars in each of the last three years and ranked 267 of 709 (62nd percentile) in 2025–2026, far above the other K–5 schools. It is the only school here above state proficiency in all three tested subjects — ELA 50.8%, math 38.3%, science 34.0% — and it has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 14.1%. Notably, it achieves this with the highest student-teacher ratio among K–5 schools (18.4), the lowest per-student spending ($16,793), and a free/reduced lunch rate (82.64%) nearly identical to its peers. Sherwood Heights Elementary School, the largest school, has stayed at 1 star for three years and falls below district averages in every subject, while Washington Elementary School is above the district in ELA (38.1%) but below in math (22.3%) and science (22.3%), and dropped from 2 stars to 1 star in 2025–2026.
Math is the weakest area overall, with Washington Elementary School's 5th grade math at just 12.0%. Every school's chronic absenteeism is below the district's 33.3% and the state's 33.5%. The Pendleton Early Learning Center has no test scores or rank history, and its highest-in-group spending ($23,482) and smallest student-teacher ratio (13.8) reflect its early-learning role; its reported free/reduced lunch figure of 113.71% likely reflects reporting methodology rather than a literal student share.
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