Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Joseph Gale Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-4
543rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 709 Oregon Elementary Schools
Better than 23% of Oregon elementary schools
Summary

Joseph Gale Elementary School is a PK–4 elementary school in Forest Grove, Oregon, serving 388 students as part of Forest Grove School District 15. In 2025–2026 it ranked 543 of 709 Oregon elementary schools — the 23rd percentile, with 1 star — while the district itself ranked 102 of 141 statewide. That overall rank is low, but it represents real improvement: the school sat at the 4th percentile in 2021–2022 and the 9th percentile in 2023–2024 before climbing to the 23rd percentile, though it remains below its 2015–2016 peak of the 28th percentile.

The clearest academic pattern is a split between math and reading. Math proficiency of 33.8% across all grades is above both the district (22%) and the state (32.9%), and essentially even with Harvey Clarke Elementary School at 33.7%. English language arts is the weak spot: 24% proficiency, below the district's 33.1% and far below the state's 43.8%, and trailing Harvey Clarke (39%) and Forest Grove Community School (43.2%). Grade 4 ELA is the lowest point at 21.5%, 22 points below the state. On the positive side, the school's results for low-income students (75th percentile, 4 stars) and English Language Learner students (50th percentile) stand well above its overall 23rd percentile.

Chronic absenteeism was 34.3% in 2024–2025 — slightly above the state (33.5%) and slightly below the district (35.6%), and higher than most nearby schools such as Cornelius Elementary School (26.5%) and Forest Grove Community School (15.7%), though it has fallen from 48.5% in 2021–2022. The school serves a high-need population (81.7% free/reduced lunch) while carrying relatively high resources: $23,584 per student and a student-teacher ratio of 14.4, lower than many nearby schools. Dilley Elementary School offers a striking contrast: similar poverty (81.09%), lower spending ($19,269) and a higher student-teacher ratio (17.1), yet much higher proficiency (ELA 55.9%, math 61%).

388
Students ?
14.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$23,584
Per pupil spending ?
81.7%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 3130 18th Ave
       Forest Grove, OR  97116-2699

(503) 359-2482

District: Forest Grove School District 15


Students who attend Joseph Gale Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Neil Armstrong Middle School
    Tom McCall Upper Elementary
High:    Forest Grove High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
62.6%
White:
33.2%
Two or more races:
1.8%
more
 See top rated Oregon elementary schools

 Compare Joseph Gale Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 18th percentile in 2015 → 23rd in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2015
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Oregon average (29% vs 38% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)
!English Language Arts scores 20 pts below the Oregon average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school29%
District avg28%
Oregon avg38%
543rd of 709
Oregon public elementary schools ?
Bottom 23%▼ down 4 pts since 2016
From bottom 28% (2016) to bottom 23% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Oregon Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 7Elementary Schools in the Forest Grove School District 15
102nd of 141Forest Grove School District 15 among Oregon districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202625.0543 of 70923.4%★☆☆☆☆
202517.2617 of 70612.6%★☆☆☆☆
202414.0649 of 7108.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.2666 of 7065.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202210.7678 of 7064.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201911.8652 of 7057.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201818.1621 of 70912.4%★☆☆☆☆
201729.3520 of 70125.8%★☆☆☆☆
201631.5505 of 69727.5%★☆☆☆☆
201522.8577 of 70618.3%★☆☆☆☆
201453.0332 of 69552.2%★★★☆☆
201346.1404 of 70742.9%★★☆☆☆
201230.1572 of 73021.6%★☆☆☆☆
201142.9446 of 69535.8%★★☆☆☆
201029.1539 of 67420.0%★☆☆☆☆
200920.1587 of 66511.7%★☆☆☆☆
200819.0590 of 6559.9%★☆☆☆☆
200746.8362 of 65244.5%★★☆☆☆
200650.0375 of 63641.0%★★☆☆☆
200553.5331 of 62947.4%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202643.554 of 10749.5%★★★☆☆
202564.919 of 10181.2%★★★★☆
202227.871 of 8011.3%★☆☆☆☆
201826.5150 of 17916.2%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202622.2532 of 65518.8%★☆☆☆☆
202512.2619 of 6535.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.2634 of 6583.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.4601 of 6527.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202211.2616 of 6464.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201817.9599 of 68112.0%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202653.2144 of 37761.8%★★★☆☆
202530.8260 of 36228.2%★☆☆☆☆
202416.8352 of 3653.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202315.0351 of 3602.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202217.9323 of 3394.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201928.1286 of 36421.4%★☆☆☆☆
201824.5404 of 47514.9%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202662.0129 of 52175.2%★★★★☆
202534.7351 of 51832.2%★★☆☆☆
202431.2395 of 52324.5%★☆☆☆☆
202316.3540 of 5959.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202210.7675 of 7034.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20199.7584 of 5972.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201823.6552 of 64013.8%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202634.4421 of 65735.9%★★☆☆☆
202524.7520 of 66421.7%★☆☆☆☆
202421.0556 of 66216.0%★☆☆☆☆
202310.7636 of 6654.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202211.6620 of 6545.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201820.7589 of 68013.4%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
201817.4460 of 4814.4%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202619.7581 of 67013.3%★☆☆☆☆
202524.4541 of 66919.1%★☆☆☆☆
202430.8472 of 67029.6%★☆☆☆☆
202322.7540 of 65617.7%★☆☆☆☆
202214.6616 of 6667.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201910.3636 of 6623.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201825.1553 of 68319.0%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)75th percentile+52 vs school
Hispanic (2026)62nd percentile+38 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)50th percentile+26 vs school
Male (2026)36th percentile+13 vs school
Female (2026)19th percentile-5 vs school
White (2026)13th percentile-10 vs school
Special Education (2018)4th percentile-8 vs school
By subject vs Oregon (2025-2026) ?
Mathematics34%~ state avg
English Language Arts24%-20 vs state

★
No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Joseph Gale Elementary School and help other families decide.
Rate Joseph Gale Elementary School
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Joseph Gale Elementary School

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Joseph Gale Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 388 students attended Joseph Gale Elementary School.

Students who attend Joseph Gale Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Neil Armstrong Middle School
Middle : Tom McCall Upper Elementary
High : Forest Grove High School

Students at Joseph Gale Elementary School are 63% Hispanic, 33% White, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American.

Joseph Gale Elementary School ranks in the bottom 23.4% of Oregon elementary schools.

Rate Joseph Gale Elementary School!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Joseph Gale Elementary School!


Latest Oregon data All new data »
2025–26 OSAS test scoresNewSep 25, 2026
2023–24 through 2024–25 school spending dataAug 24, 2026
2024–25 graduation ratesJan 29, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataNov 20, 2025


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Oregon Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

Diagnostics