Summary
Wallowa High School is a very small rural public school in Wallowa, Oregon, serving grades 9–12 with just 55 students, and it is the only high school in Wallowa School District 12, which means the school's results and the district's results are the same in every reported measure.
Academically, this is one of the strongest high schools in Oregon. Its 11th graders score 73.3% proficient in English language arts, 46.7% in math, and 60.0% in science — the highest of the three local schools and well above Oregon's 46.0%, 22.9%, and 33.8%. Math is roughly double the state rate. Statewide, the school ranks 13th of 271 high schools (95th percentile, 5 stars), and the district ranks 16th of 141 (89th percentile, 4 stars). That standing is not a one-year fluke: back in 2016–17 the school sat at the 14th percentile, and it has earned 5 stars in every reported year since 2021–22. Class sizes are the smallest around, with a 9.1-to-1 student–teacher ratio versus 14.4 at Elgin High School and 11.9 at Enterprise High School. Chronic absenteeism, at 32.7%, is slightly better than the state's 33.5% and better than both neighbors. The closest peer is Enterprise High School, which posts a higher graduation rate (94.6% vs. 90.0%) but trails in all three tested subjects; Elgin High School trails on nearly every measure.
Two things are worth keeping in mind. With only about 12–15 students per grade, one student can move a percentage by several points, so trends matter more than any single year — and the multi-year trend is strongly positive. One rough patch in 2022–23, when absenteeism hit 68.4% and graduation fell to 70.0%, fully reversed the following years. The school also spends a lot per student ($22,005), which is typical of tiny rural districts. Overall, families are looking at a small, well-supported school currently performing in the top 5% of Oregon high schools.
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