Catalyst High School

Catalyst High School is a small public high school serving grades 9–12 in Newberg, Oregon, with 173 students at 1421 Deborah Rd, part of Newberg School District 29J and located just 0.21 miles from the district's 1,244-student Newberg Senior High School.

For families weighing options, the most important numbers are these: Catalyst ranks 208th of 271 Oregon high schools in 2025–2026 (23rd percentile, 1 star) — up from the 7th percentile the year before, its first star in three years. Its graduation rate is 66.3%, about 20 points below its district and 17 below the state, and 26.3 points below next-door Newberg Senior's 92.6%. Chronic absenteeism is the school's most extreme figure at 66.9% — roughly two of every three students — more than double the district's 29.4% and exactly double the state's 33.5%, compared with 34.2% at Newberg Senior. Grade-11 proficiency runs 28.6% in English language arts, 15.4% in math, and 24.1% in science, below district and state in every subject; math is the weakest, 10.4 points below the district. Science is a relative bright spot, within 0.4 points of Tualatin High School (24.5%), a comprehensive school nearly ten times its size. Only grade 11 is tested here, so grade-11-to-grade-11 comparisons are the fair ones.

The most useful comparison is North Marion High School, which serves a similarly high-poverty population and spends about four times as much per student ($20,794 vs. $5,185), yet Catalyst outperforms it at grade 11 in all three subjects. Catalyst also outperforms Creekside Community High School across the board, though St Paul High School shows a small school can post 100% graduation with low absenteeism. Catalyst's momentum is real but fragile. The clearest place to focus is attendance — without it, instructional gains are hard to hold.