Talent Middle School

Talent Middle School is a public middle school in Talent, Oregon, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 482 students. The school is part of the Phoenix-Talent School District 4, which is ranked 108 out of 140 districts in Oregon and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Talent Middle School has consistently been ranked in the bottom third of Oregon middle schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of the past decade.

Talent Middle School faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 32.7% to 38.1% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science are consistently lower than the state and district averages. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 8th-grade proficiency rates were 25.2% in ELA, 18.5% in Math, and 16% in Science, compared to the state averages of 41.6%, 28.9%, and 27.2%, respectively. The school's performance on state assessments is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as English Language Learners, Special Education students, and Low Socioeconomic Status students, who rank in the bottom 20-30% of Oregon middle schools in these categories.

When comparing Talent Middle School to nearby middle schools, such as Hanby Middle School and Eagle Point Middle School, Talent consistently underperforms on key metrics like test scores and chronic absenteeism. These nearby schools have significantly higher proficiency rates in ELA and Math compared to Talent. The high rates of poverty, as indicated by the free and reduced lunch percentages (around 78%), and the chronic absenteeism issues at Talent Middle School may be contributing factors to the school's low academic performance. Despite these challenges, Talent Middle School's ranking and performance have remained stagnant or declined over the past decade, suggesting a need for more targeted interventions and support to improve student outcomes.