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Joseph Gale Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-4
617th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 706 Oregon Elementary Schools
Better than 13% of Oregon elementary schools
Summary

Joseph Gale Elementary School is a public elementary school in Forest Grove, Oregon, serving students from pre-kindergarten to 4th grade. The school is part of the Forest Grove School District 15, which is ranked 91 out of 140 districts in the state.

Joseph Gale Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 20% of Oregon elementary schools, with low academic performance compared to the district and state averages. In 2024-2025, only 16.7% of 3rd-grade students and 24.1% of 4th-grade students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, far below the district and state averages. The school's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups, with the school ranking in the top 20% for English Language Learners but the bottom 20% for female, male, Hispanic, and White students, as well as students with low socioeconomic status. Additionally, the school has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 31.7% to 38.1%, which are significantly higher than the state average.

Compared to nearby schools, Joseph Gale Elementary's academic performance is generally lower. For example, Paul L Patterson Elementary and Dilley Elementary have proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics that are 2-3 times higher than Joseph Gale Elementary. Despite these challenges, the school's spending per student is higher than the nearby schools, ranging from $18,698 to $20,369, which is above the district and state averages.

388
Students ?
14.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,369
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: Rebounding — 4th percentile in 2022 → 13th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is rebounding — up to 13th (2025) from a 4th-percentile low (2022)
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Oregon average (23% vs 40% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)
!English Language Arts scores 21 pts below the Oregon average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school23%
District avg29%
Oregon avg40%
617th of 706
Oregon public elementary schools ?
Bottom 13%▼ down 6 pts since 2015
From bottom 18% (2015) to bottom 13% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Oregon Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 7Elementary Schools in the Forest Grove School District 15
91st of 140Forest 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
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
202564.919 of 10181.2%★★★★☆
202227.871 of 8011.3%★☆☆☆☆
201826.5150 of 17916.2%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
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
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
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
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
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)
English Language Learner (2025)81st percentile+69 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)32nd percentile+20 vs school
Hispanic (2025)28th percentile+16 vs school
Male (2025)22nd percentile+9 vs school
White (2025)19th percentile+7 vs school
Female (2025)5th percentile-7 vs school
Special Education (2018)4th percentile-8 vs school
By subject vs Oregon (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics26%-13 vs state
English Language Arts20%-21 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Joseph Gale Elementary School

Joseph Gale Elementary School ranks in the bottom 12.6% of Oregon elementary schools.

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

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

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


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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.





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