Summary:
Zip code 97128 in McMinnville, Oregon is home to two middle schools — Duniway Middle School and Patton Middle School — both serving grades 6–8 and both part of McMinnville School District 40. Together they enroll 1,407 students. The two schools look almost identical on paper: about 78% of students at each qualify for free or reduced lunch, and per-student spending is within $333 ($18,737 at Duniway versus $18,404 at Patton). The district overall ranks 31st of 141 Oregon districts.
Academically, the two schools could not be more different. Duniway ranks 56th of 371 Oregon middle schools (4 stars) and beats the state in every subject tested — English language arts by 12.3 points, math by 15.9 points, and science by 13.4 points — while also exceeding its own district's averages. Patton ranks 215th of 371 (2 stars) and trails the state in all three subjects. Across all grades, the proficiency gap between them is a remarkably consistent 19–20 points in every subject, and it peaks in 7th-grade ELA, where Duniway's 64.1% is nearly double Patton's 33.3%. Duniway's 8th-grade math result of 57.8% is close to double the state's 30.0%.
What stands out is that resources and attendance do not explain the divide. Patton actually has the smaller classes (16.8 students per teacher versus 18.4) and slightly lower chronic absenteeism (24.5% versus 25.2%), with both schools well below district and state absenteeism rates. The most concerning trend is Patton's trajectory: it slipped from 3 stars and the 59th percentile in 2023–2024 to 2 stars and the 42nd percentile in 2025–2026, while Duniway has held 4 stars for three straight years. Both schools see their weakest results in 6th grade and improve by 8th grade, but Patton's only above-state results come in 8th grade. Families comparing the two should note the district's strong rating leans heavily on Duniway.
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