Middle Schools in Vernonia School District 47J

Vernonia School District 47J in Oregon has one middle school, Vernonia Middle School, which serves grades 6–8 and enrolls 139 students in the Vernonia area. Because it is the only middle school in the Vernonia School District 47J, its grade-level district figures are identical to the school’s, so the most useful comparisons are between the school and the state.

In English Language Arts, Vernonia Middle School is close to the state overall: 41.1% proficient versus 43.8% statewide. Its 7th and 8th grade ELA rates are above the state—46.5% versus 45.3% in 7th grade and 43.9% versus 41.5% in 8th grade—but 6th grade ELA is 32.5%, below the state’s 41.8%. Mathematics is the clearest weakness. Overall math proficiency is 12.1%, compared with 19.4% in the district and 32.9% statewide. The gaps are especially large in 6th grade (5.1% versus 29.7% statewide) and 8th grade (9.5% versus 30.0% statewide). The school’s math-ELA gap is 29.0 percentage points, much wider than the state’s 10.9-point gap, suggesting math is disproportionately depressed relative to reading and writing. Science is closer: 25.0% proficient versus 27.7% statewide.

Chronic absenteeism is a major concern: 46.7% of students were chronically absent in 2024–2025, above the district’s 44.3% and well above the state’s 33.5%. The school’s rank also slipped from 2 stars in 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 to 1 star in 2025–2026, when it ranked 261st of 371 schools, in the 30th percentile. About 69.78% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and per-student spending was $17,699, with a student-teacher ratio of 15.4. Overall, Vernonia Middle School’s strongest relative area is ELA, especially in 7th and 8th grades; its most urgent academic challenge is mathematics, particularly in 6th and 8th grades. Absenteeism and the declining rank are also notable concerns, while the high free/reduced lunch rate and substantial spending point to a high-need population receiving significant investment. This is a one-year snapshot, so it does not establish cause and effect.