Summary:
Portland School District 1J serves grades 6–8 across 15 middle schools enrolling 7,344 students, from Jackson Middle School (715 students) down to Harriet Tubman Middle School (329). The district is one of Oregon's strongest, ranking 12th of 141 districts with a 5-star rating, and its proficiency rates — 57.8% in ELA, 50.5% in math, and 45.1% in science — all sit well above state averages of 43.8%, 32.9%, and 30.6%.
A clear top tier posts exceptional results. Sellwood Middle School ranks 8th of 371 Oregon middle schools with the district's highest ELA (77.9%) and math (71.2%) proficiency, and has climbed steadily in rank. Gray Middle School has the best science score in the district at 58.1%, while West Sylvan Middle School, Jackson Middle School, Beaumont Middle School, Mt Tabor Middle School, and Hosford Middle School all earn 5 stars and rank in Oregon's top 10%. Jackson achieves this with 61.82% free/reduced lunch. At the other end, George Middle School ranks 329th of 371 with 24.8% ELA and 9.2% science, and Lane Middle School and Kellogg Middle School also trail district and state averages.
Chronic absenteeism is the strongest signal in the data: top schools generally stay below 25%, while George (46.6%), Roseway Heights School (45.8%), and Lane (45.2%) exceed 45%. Harrison Park School is the exception — despite 98.92% FRL, its absenteeism is 23.2% and it ranks 88th of 371. Science is the weakest subject district-wide, and spending shows no simple link to outcomes: lower-spending Sellwood, Jackson, and West Sylvan outperform higher-spending Lane and George. Harriet Tubman, Roseway Heights, Ockley Green Middle School, and Hosford are all improving quickly.
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