Summary:
ZIP code 97838 in Hermiston, Oregon is served by two public middle schools — Armand Larive Middle School and Sandstone Middle School — both teaching grades 6 through 8 within Hermiston School District 8, and together enrolling about 1,331 students.
These two schools are unusually similar in size, student demographics, and funding, but their academic strengths are nearly opposite. Sandstone is the English language arts and science standout: its 7th grade ELA proficiency of 48.5% is the highest figure in this data set and beats both the state (45.3%) and district (42.1%), while 8th grade ELA (44.2%) and science (29.8%) also top the state or come close. Armand Larive is the math school, with all-grades math at 34.6% above the district (32.3%) and state (32.9%), and 6th grade math at 43.8% — 14.1 points above the state. Armand Larive wins every math grade head-to-head; Sandstone wins two of three ELA grades and science. However, Armand Larive's 8th grade science (19.7%) is the weakest result in the file, 10.9 points below the state.
Outside the classroom, both schools look alike. Roughly 92% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch at each, per-student spending differs by only $21 (about $19,900 per student), and both beat the district and state on chronic absenteeism — Sandstone at 27.6%, Armand Larive at 29.6%, versus 33.5% statewide. The one structural difference is staffing: Armand Larive runs 16.6 students per teacher against Sandstone's 19.6. Sandstone has held a 3-star rating for three straight years, while Armand Larive slipped to 2 stars in 2025–2026. For families, the choice is less about which school is better than about subject fit — math at Armand Larive, ELA and science at Sandstone.
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