Waldo Middle School

Waldo Middle School is a grades 6–8 school serving 997 students at 2805 Lansing Ave NE in Salem, Oregon, part of Salem-Keizer School District 24J. It is the second-largest middle school in its local comparison group, and it sits near the bottom of Oregon's rankings: 342nd of 371 ranked middle schools in 2025–26, the 8th percentile with 0 stars. That placement is not a one-year dip — across ten reporting years Waldo has never risen above the 13th percentile. About 89.9% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, the highest share among nearby schools, though that figure jumped sharply from 67.9% the year before and likely reflects a reporting change rather than a change in the student body.

2025–26 test results trail both the district and the state in every subject: 22.5% proficient in English language arts (state 43.8%), 13.1% in math (state 32.9%), and 11.3% in science (state 30.6%). Among 11 nearby schools, Waldo is last in math and science and 10th of 11 in ELA. Chronic absenteeism is 46.0%, roughly 12.5 points above the state and about 10–15 points above same-poverty peers Straub Middle School (31.1%) and Walker Middle School (35.7%). Notably, Waldo spends $20,095 per student — the third-highest in the group — and has one of the lowest student-teacher ratios (20.9), so money and class size are not the obvious explanation.

There are real bright spots. Special education results climbed to the 48th percentile (2 stars), and gifted and talented students reached the 70th percentile (4 stars). Seventh grade is the strongest grade in both reading and math, while 6th grade math (8.2%) is the weakest area — and that cohort moves up next year. Jane Goodall Environmental Middle Charter School, serving a similarly high-poverty population, posts 59.4% science proficiency, showing high poverty in Salem does not automatically mean single-digit proficiency, though its charter enrollment is self-selecting.