Willamina School District 30J

Willamina School District 30J is a small Oregon district serving 817 students across three schools — Willamina Elementary School for grades K–5, Willamina Middle School for grades 6–8, and Willamina High School for grades 9–12. Willamina School District 30J ranks 134th of 141 Oregon districts, in the 5th percentile with 0 stars, and no school matches state averages in reading, math, or science at the all-grades level. The one exception is high school graduation, which is essentially at the state rate.

Within the district, Willamina Middle School is the relative bright spot: it has the highest 2025–26 rank percentile (23rd, up from 12th), the strongest all-grades ELA proficiency (35.3%), and 7th grade results within about 4 points of state averages in ELA (41.5% vs. 45.3%) and math (29.3% vs. 33.3%). Willamina Elementary School has the lowest chronic absenteeism (34.4%, just 0.9 points above the state) and the district's best math (19.1%) and science (15%) proficiency. Willamina High School has the lowest math (8.2%) and science (5.6%) proficiency, the highest absenteeism (60.3% vs. 33.5% statewide), the largest classes (25.5 students per teacher), and the lowest per-student spending ($21,889).

Chronic absenteeism climbs sharply by grade level: 34.4% in elementary, 51.8% in middle, and 60.3% in high school. Grade-level weak spots include 5th grade math (8.3% vs. 32.4% statewide), 6th grade math (10.9%), and 8th grade science (7.5% vs. 27.7%). Notably, higher spending does not track with stronger results — the middle school spends the most but has the district's lowest science proficiency. Free/reduced-lunch figures appear unreliable, exceeding 100% at two schools and missing at the middle school.