Summary:
ZIP code 97411 covers Bandon, Oregon, and contains exactly one middle school — Harbor Lights Middle School — which serves grades 5 through 8 with 195 students as part of Bandon School District 54. Because it is the only middle school in the area, the most useful comparisons are between the school and Oregon state averages, between grade levels and subjects within the school, and between the school's recent results and its own prior years.
Its strengths are in English Language Arts and science. Overall ELA is 51.5% proficient versus Oregon's 43.8%, and science is 40.2% versus the state's 30.6%. Fifth grade stands out across every subject: 59% in ELA, 42.6% in math, and 45.2% in science, all comfortably above state. Seventh grade ELA is also strong at 59% versus 45.3% statewide. Math is the clear weak spot: overall math is 27.9%, below both the state (32.9%) and the district (29.9%). The gap is concentrated in grades 6 through 8, where proficiency is 20.6%, 22%, and just 13.8% in 8th grade, compared with 30% statewide. Eighth grade ELA (37.9% vs. 41.5%) also trails the state.
The school's trajectory is a concern. After ranking at the 82nd percentile with 4 stars in 2023–2024 and the 76th percentile with 4 stars in 2024–2025, it fell to the 44th percentile with 2 stars in 2025–2026. Meanwhile, the district itself ranks 42 of 141 statewide, at the 70th percentile with 4 stars. Context matters: 89.74% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, chronic absenteeism is 32.9% (slightly below the state's 33.5% but above the district's 28.5%), spending is $20,184 per student, and the student-teacher ratio is 17.7. For parents, the takeaway is a school with real ELA and science strengths and an obvious opportunity to strengthen middle-school math.
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