Summary
Jefferson County Middle School is a grades 6–8 school in Madras, Oregon, serving 426 students as part of Jefferson County School District 509J. The district ranks 130th of 141 districts in Oregon (8th percentile), and the school's 2025–2026 state rank is 325th of 371 schools (12th percentile, 1 star)—down from the 43rd percentile in 2021–2022. On 2025–2026 state assessments, 26.5% of students were proficient in English Language Arts, 16.0% in math, and 13.1% in science, compared with state rates of 43.8%, 32.9%, and 30.6%. The school is slightly above its own district in ELA and math but well below the state.
The nearest comparison, Culver Middle School (about 9.34 miles away in Culver, 162 students, grades 6–8, part of Culver School District 4), ranks 196th of 371 (47th percentile, 2 stars). The sharpest difference is reading: Culver's all-grade ELA proficiency is 55.3%, more than double Jefferson's 26.5%, with a gap at every grade level. Math is a shared weakness—Jefferson's 16.0% is slightly above Culver's 14.2% and stronger in grades 7 and 8, but both trail the state. Science favors Culver, 22.0% versus 13.1%. Jefferson's chronic absenteeism was 33.2% in 2024–2025, near the state's 33.5% and better than the district's 41.3%, but 11.5 points above Culver's 21.7%.
Jefferson spends $24,022 per student—about $4,563 more than Culver's $19,459—and has a slightly higher student-teacher ratio (16.8 versus 15.2). Its free/reduced-lunch figures are reported above 100%, a data anomaly that nonetheless suggests near-universal economic disadvantage. Taken together, reading, science, and attendance are the clearest areas for parents to ask about and watch.
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