Best Public Schools in Zip Code 97106

ZIP code 97106 covers Banks, Oregon, a small community served by Banks School District 13, which contains exactly three public schools forming a traditional K–12 pipeline: Banks Elementary School (K–5, 430 students), Banks Middle School (6–8, 254 students), and Banks High School (9–12, 397 students). That is 1,081 students in total, and there are no alternative or charter schools in the ZIP.

The district as a whole rates well — 39th of 141 in Oregon, in the 72nd percentile with 4 stars — but that single rating hides three very different schools. Banks High School is the standout: 14th of 271 high schools statewide, in the 95th percentile with 5 stars, up from 189th of 268 two years earlier. Its graduation rate is 98.1% against a state figure of 83.0%, and its all-grade proficiency is 71.7% in ELA, 48.3% in math, and 60.0% in science, all far above state averages. Banks Middle School is the opposite case — 279th of 371 middle schools, in the 25th percentile with 1 star, down from the 41st percentile. Its proficiency is 31.6% in ELA, 23.5% in math, and just 10.5% in science, roughly one-third of the state's 30.6% all-grade rate. Banks Elementary School sits in the middle: 343rd of 709 elementary schools, in the 52nd percentile with 3 stars, with ELA at 44.4% and math at 37.8%, near state levels.

A few patterns are worth noting. Free/reduced-lunch rates run from 30.23% at the high school to 74.8% at the middle school, loosely tracking achievement, though the data do not show cause and effect. Chronic absenteeism is below the state's 33.5% at all three schools, and does not line up neatly with test scores. Spending and class size show no simple relationship either: the high school spends the most per student ($17,010) with the largest student-teacher ratio (20.4) and performs best, while the middle school spends $15,770 with the smallest ratio (17.8) and performs worst. The elementary school's strengths are concentrated in 3rd grade, with 5th-grade math and science below state averages, and science is a relative weak point outside the high school.