McLoughlin High School

McLoughlin High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Milton Freewater, Oregon, with a total enrollment of 460 students. The school is part of the Milton-Freewater Unified School District 7.

While McLoughlin High School has seen fluctuating four-year graduation rates, ranging from 81.3% to 96.4% in recent years, the school faces several significant challenges. It has a high chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 34.3% to 46.6%, which is significantly higher than the state average. Academically, the school's proficiency rates on the OSAS assessments are consistently below the state averages in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's proficiency rates were 27.8% in ELA, 12.2% in Math, and 15.7% in Science, compared to the state averages of 44.4%, 20.3%, and 32.6%, respectively. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 74.57% to 75.97% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in recent years.

Interestingly, the closest comparable school, Weston-McEwen High School in Athena, Oregon, consistently outperforms McLoughlin High School on key metrics, such as graduation rates, academic performance, and student-teacher ratio. For example, in 2024-2025, Weston-McEwen High School had a 52% proficiency rate in ELA, compared to McLoughlin's 27.8%. Despite the school's challenges, McLoughlin High School spends a relatively high amount per student, with $21,890 spent in 2022-2023, suggesting that the issue may not be solely a lack of funding, but rather the effective allocation and utilization of resources to address the school's specific needs.