Summary:
ZIP code 97131 — Nehalem, on Oregon's northern coast — contains exactly one public elementary school, Nehalem Elementary School, a PK–5 building of 171 students that is part of Neah-Kah-Nie School District 56. Because it is the only elementary school in the ZIP, the useful comparisons are against its district and the state. It runs a 14.7-to-1 student–teacher ratio, spends $26,184 per student, and reports 80.7% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch and 32.9% chronic absenteeism — about one in three students missing enough school to be flagged.
Academically, the school outperforms Oregon averages in all three tested subjects. All-grades English Language Arts is 55.7% proficient versus 43.8% statewide, math is 42.5% versus 32.9%, and science is 43.3% versus 30.6%. Fourth grade reading is the brightest spot at 66.7%, a full 23.2 points above the state and 13.9 points above the district. The clear soft spot is fifth grade math at 27.6%, the only metric below the Oregon average (32.4) and a steep drop from the school's own third grade (48.4%) and fourth grade (51.9%) math results. The district is weak there too (27.1%), which suggests the fifth grade math gap is a broader pattern rather than one classroom.
The school earned 4 stars in each of the last three years and ranked 200th of 709 Oregon schools (72nd percentile), but that reflects a three-year slide from 85th to 76th to 72nd percentile. Its own district ranks 10th of 141 with 5 stars, so the district's elite standing likely rests on schools other than this one. Attendance at 32.9% beats the district (37.7%) and roughly matches the state (33.5%). The takeaway for parents: solid above-average reading and math results, generous funding, one genuine weakness in fifth grade math, and a still-strong but downward-drifting trajectory.
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