Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 97071

Zip code 97071 has two public middle schools, both serving grades 6–8 in Woodburn School District 103: Valor Middle School with 591 students and French Prairie Middle School with 551 students, for a combined enrollment of 1,142. Families choosing between them should know that both are near the bottom of Oregon's middle school rankings, and the district itself ranks 139th of 141. Valor ranked 356th of 371 middle schools (4th percentile) in 2025–26 and French Prairie ranked 364th of 371 (2nd percentile); both earned 0 stars in every reported year.

Academically, Valor is the relatively stronger of the two. Its all-grade ELA proficiency is 19.1% versus French Prairie's 18.6%, and its math proficiency is 8.8% versus 6.0%. Valor also posts the highest single results in the pair, including 8th grade ELA at 23.5% and 8th grade math at 13.6%. French Prairie's narrower strengths are science, at 6.9% versus Valor's 5.2%, and 6th grade ELA, at 21.5% versus 14.4%. Its scores then decline by grade: ELA falls from 21.5% in 6th grade to 14.8% in 8th, and math falls from 6.8% to 5.0%. Valor moves the other way, with ELA rising from 14.4% to 23.5% and math from 6.4% to 13.6%. All of these figures sit far below state averages of 43.8% in ELA, 32.9% in math, and 30.6% in science.

Attendance and resources differ as well. Valor's chronic absenteeism is 33.0%, below the district's 36.7% and just under the state's 33.5%, while French Prairie's is 37.0%, above both. French Prairie also has higher free/reduced lunch participation, 78.77% versus 73.43%, and spends more per student, $21,567 versus $20,246, with a slightly higher student-teacher ratio of 17.8 versus 17.0 — yet lower overall ELA and math proficiency. Small gaps, such as Valor's 0.5-point ELA edge, should not be overinterpreted; the broader pattern is that both schools serve high-poverty, high-absenteeism populations and perform well below Oregon averages in core subjects.