Summary:
ZIP code 97370 contains exactly one middle school: Philomath Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 with 351 students, or roughly 117 per grade, in the Philomath School District 17J. Because it is the only middle school in the area, there is no nearby peer school to compare it with; the most useful yardsticks are its own district and the state of Oregon.
The school stands out for improvement. Its statewide rank rose from 142 of 371 (62nd percentile, 3 stars) in 2023-24 and 142 of 368 (61st percentile, 3 stars) in 2024-25 to 104 of 371 (72nd percentile, 4 stars) in 2025-26 — a 38-place jump in a single year, putting it in the top 28% of ranked Oregon middle schools. That is well above its own district, which sits at 75 of 141, 47th percentile, 2 stars. Math and science are clear strengths: in 2025-26, all-grade math proficiency was 39.1% against 32.9% statewide, and science was 42.7% against 30.6%. Eighth-grade science, at 42.7%, exceeded the state's 27.7% by 15 points, and math beat state averages in every grade.
English language arts is more uneven. All-grade ELA was 45.1%, only slightly above Oregon's 43.8% but below the district's 46.6%. Sixth and seventh grade ELA were above state, while eighth grade ELA, at 35.0%, trailed the state's 41.5% by 6.5 points — the school's clearest academic weak spot. Chronic absenteeism was 31.2%, high in absolute terms but below both the district (32.6%) and the state (33.5%). About 49.29% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, per-student spending is $16,759, and the student-teacher ratio is 16.7.
Thank you for your feedback!