Summary:
ZIP code 97868 contains one public elementary school: Pilot Rock Elementary School, a K–6 building at 200 Vern McGowan Dr in Pilot Rock with 136 students, and it is the only elementary provider in Pilot Rock School District 2. It serves a high-need population — 72.79% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — while spending $19,201 per student with a 13.6 student-to-teacher ratio. Because there are no other elementary schools in the ZIP to compare against, the benchmarks below are the school's own district and the state of Oregon.
Attendance is the clearest strength: chronic absenteeism of 22.3% is better than the district's 27.6% and 11.2 points better than the state's 33.5%. Academics are the concern. In 2025–2026 OSAS results, English language arts proficiency was 32.5% (state 43.8%) and math 15.2% (state 32.9%) — a 17.7-point math gap. Science, tested only in 5th grade, was 13.6% against a state 5th-grade figure of 30.8%. Math is the deeper problem: the school's strongest subject, reading, sits just below the state's weakest subject, math. Its statewide ranking fell from the 35th percentile in 2023–24 and 38th in 2024–25 to 18th in 2025–26, dropping from 2 stars to 1 star.
Grade-level scores show the biggest shortfalls in both subjects at grades 3 and 4, where reading trails the state by as much as 25.9 points and math by 24.6 to 27.1 points, while 5th- and 6th-grade reading came within roughly 4 points of the state. With only about 18–20 students per grade, a single student moves a rate by about 5 points, so year-to-year swings should be read as directional. The school ranks slightly below its own district (18th vs. 23rd percentile), meaning its results are not being masked by a stronger district — but its strong attendance, small classes, and high per-pupil spending are real assets to build on.
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