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Buff Elementary School

Public Grades K-5
401st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 709 Oregon Elementary Schools
Better than 43% of Oregon elementary schools
Summary

Buff Elementary School is a K–5 school in Madras, Oregon, serving 297 students in Jefferson County School District 509J, a district ranked 130th of 141 in Oregon (8th percentile, 0 stars). Buff itself ranks 401st of 709 Oregon elementary schools in 2025–2026 — the 43rd percentile, 2 stars — placing it in the middle of the state and well above its own district. Its history shows real long-term improvement: Buff sat in the bottom 7–9% of Oregon schools around 2014–2017, climbed to the 54th percentile in 2024–2025, and then slipped to 43rd this year.

In 2025–2026 state testing, 44.7% of Buff students were proficient in English language arts (district 25.6%, state 43.8%), 29.8% in math (district 15.9%, state 32.9%), and 23.5% in science (district 14.3%, state 30.6%). Fourth-grade ELA (50%) and third-grade math (41.9%) are bright spots at or above state levels, while fifth-grade math (20% vs. 32.4% statewide) and fifth-grade science (23.5% vs. 30.8%) are the clearest pressure points. Among nearby K–5 schools in the same district, Buff leads in ELA and science and trails only Metolius Elementary School slightly in math, and it outperforms Madras Elementary School and Warm Springs K-8 Academy by wide margins. Terrebonne Community School (57th percentile, 3 stars) still scores higher in math and science despite larger classes and lower per-student spending, while Buff beats Culver Elementary School in all three subjects.

Attendance is one of Buff's strongest features: 28.3% of students were chronically absent, better than the district's 41.3% and the state's 33.5%, and the lowest among its same-district peers. Buff spends $21,823 per student with a 13.5 student–teacher ratio — smaller classes than Madras, Terrebonne, and Culver. Results for some groups stand out: effectiveness rankings for Hispanic students (71st percentile) and low-income students (69th percentile) sit well above the school's overall 43rd percentile, while female students rank lower, at the 34th. Note that reported free/reduced-lunch figures above 100% are reporting artifacts, and online-school data with suppressed scores should be treated as unknown, not zero.

297
Students ?
13.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$21,823
Per pupil spending ?
56.9%
Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?
 375 SE Buff St
       Madras, OR  97741-1535

(541) 475-2457

District: Jefferson County School District 509J


Students who attend Buff Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Jefferson County Middle School
High:    Madras High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
48.8%
White:
39.1%
American Indian:
6.7%
more
 See top rated Oregon elementary schools

 Compare Buff Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 65th percentile in 2022 → 43rd in 2026
Strengths
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Jefferson County School District 509J
Worth a look
!Ranking has slipped from its 65th-percentile peak (2022) to 43rd (2026)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school35%
District avg20%
Oregon avg37%
401st of 709
Oregon public elementary schools ?
Bottom 43%▲ up 36 pts since 2016
From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 43% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Oregon Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
1st of 4Elementary Schools in the Jefferson County School District 509J
130th of 141Jefferson County School District 509J 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
202640.1401 of 70943.4%★★☆☆☆
202548.2323 of 70654.2%★★★☆☆
202440.7390 of 71045.1%★★☆☆☆
202348.9322 of 70654.4%★★★☆☆
202257.5249 of 70664.7%★★★☆☆
201940.0414 of 70541.3%★★☆☆☆
201823.8581 of 70918.1%★☆☆☆☆
201713.0643 of 7018.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201613.0648 of 6977.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201514.7640 of 7069.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201418.6605 of 69512.9%★☆☆☆☆
201310.7671 of 7075.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20128.5706 of 7303.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201110.3670 of 6953.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201018.5611 of 6749.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20091.8663 of 6650.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20086.2643 of 6551.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20077.6639 of 6522.0%☆☆☆☆☆
200610.6613 of 6363.6%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
201843.573 of 17959.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202633.2434 of 65533.7%★★☆☆☆
202530.1460 of 65329.6%★☆☆☆☆
202435.8411 of 65837.5%★★☆☆☆
202345.1320 of 65250.9%★★★☆☆
202257.9230 of 64664.4%★★★☆☆
201933.9431 of 62130.6%★★☆☆☆
201825.4551 of 68119.1%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202658.7111 of 37770.6%★★★★☆
202556.7117 of 36267.7%★★★☆☆
202464.375 of 36579.5%★★★★☆
202366.863 of 36082.5%★★★★☆
202268.656 of 33983.5%★★★★☆
201953.4146 of 36459.9%★★★☆☆
201833.7332 of 47530.1%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202656.5161 of 52169.1%★★★☆☆
202543.5281 of 51845.8%★★☆☆☆
202449.0220 of 52357.9%★★★☆☆
202366.6151 of 59574.6%★★★★☆
202257.9246 of 70365.0%★★★☆☆
201960.6180 of 59769.8%★★★★☆
201839.6416 of 64035.0%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202648.2309 of 65753.0%★★★☆☆
202570.4161 of 66475.8%★★★★☆
202445.3326 of 66250.8%★★★☆☆
202351.9277 of 66558.3%★★★☆☆
202255.1255 of 65461.0%★★★☆☆
201943.9341 of 62345.3%★★☆☆☆
201823.2560 of 68017.6%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202651.4301 of 67055.1%★★★☆☆
202559.8232 of 66965.3%★★★☆☆
202455.1272 of 67059.4%★★★☆☆
202357.4265 of 65659.6%★★★☆☆
202263.2210 of 66668.5%★★★☆☆
201954.7285 of 66256.9%★★★☆☆
201834.7479 of 68329.9%★★☆☆☆
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)
Hispanic (2026)71st percentile+27 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)69th percentile+26 vs school
English Language Learner (2018)59th percentile+41 vs school
White (2026)55th percentile+12 vs school
Male (2026)53rd percentile+10 vs school
Female (2026)34th percentile-10 vs school
By subject vs Oregon (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts45%~ state avg
Mathematics30%-3 vs state
Science24%-7 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Buff Elementary School

Students who attend Buff Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Jefferson County Middle School
High : Madras High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 297 students attended Buff Elementary School.

Students at Buff Elementary School are 49% Hispanic, 39% White, 7% American Indian, 5% Two or more races.

Buff Elementary School ranks 401st of 709 Oregon elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

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Latest Oregon data All new data »
2025–26 OSAS test scoresSep 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.

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