Summary
West Sylvan Middle School is a public middle school in Portland, Oregon, serving about 670 students in grades 6–8 as part of Portland School District 1J, which ranks 12th of 141 Oregon districts. West Sylvan is a consistently top-tier school statewide: in 2025–2026 it ranked 19th of 371 Oregon middle schools (95th percentile, 5 stars), and it has earned 5 stars every year in its recent history, with a high point of 4th of 382 in 2016–2017. It is mid-sized compared with nearby schools, many in neighboring Beaverton School District 48J: bigger than Gray Middle School (439 students) and similar to Meadow Park Middle School (671), but smaller than Stoller Middle School (1,069) and Tumwater Middle School (1,003).
Academically, English language arts is West Sylvan's standout strength: 73.8% proficiency, above every nearby comparison school and 16 points above the district and 30 points above the state. Math is also strong at 62.9%, ahead of Gray, Jackson Middle School, and Tumwater, though behind Stoller (68.3%). Science is the clear relative weakness: 45.6%, only 0.5 points above the district and below Stoller, Jackson, Gray, and Tumwater. In 8th grade specifically, science runs 29.0 points below the school's ELA and 17.1 points below its math.
The school stands out for how well it serves many student groups: in 2025–2026, Special Education students ranked 1st of 193 (99th percentile) and low-income students 11th of 256 (96th percentile), both large jumps from two years earlier. English Language Learners ranked in the 91st percentile. Chronic absenteeism was 23.7% in 2024–2025, better than the district (32.5%) and state (33.5%), though Stoller (17.2%) and Tumwater (19.5%) are lower. West Sylvan's free/reduced lunch rate is now 41.64%, the lowest among nearby schools but a sharp rise from 13.08% in 2022–2023, likely reflecting either a real demographic shift or a reporting change. Per-student spending is $21,482.
Thank you for your feedback!