The top reported proficiency rate is 12% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Chenowith Elementary School
Chenowith Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in The Dalles, a city that functions as a regional trading and commercial hub for the Mid-Columbia River area. The Dalles is the county seat of Wasco County and sits roughly midway between Portland and the Washington-Oregon border along the Columbia River Gorge. Its economy blends agriculture—cherries and vineyards remain important—with a Google data center, a medical center, and the Army Corps of Engineers presence at The Dalles Dam. The school is part of the North Wasco County School District, and the district’s own facilities are among the area’s larger employers, so the school is integrated into the community fabric rather than isolated from it.
Enrollment at Chenowith is moderate for an elementary school, drawing a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and White, with smaller numbers of students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker the school’s data makes plain. This is a high-poverty setting by that measure, and families considering the school should weigh that context alongside the academic results described below.
State assessment data from the 2024–2025 school year shows that proficiency rates across tested grades and subjects are low. In reading and English language arts, the share of students meeting the state standard in grades three, four, and five fell between roughly one in ten and roughly one in six. Math scores were similarly low, with third-grade proficiency reported in the single digits and fourth-grade math proficiency falling below a share that state officials report with an exact figure—a circumstance that itself merits a conversation with the school. Fifth-grade math was somewhat higher but still in the mid-teens. Science, tested in grade five, was also in that range. These results place Chenowith’s overall proficiency index in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Wasco County. The available data covers only a single year, so no trend can be assessed.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The data also does not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or staffing ratios. The district brief turned up no publicly reported changes or strategic initiatives from the recent period that would give a parent a clear sense of direction or new programming.
For a family looking at Chenowith Elementary, the picture is straightforward. The school operates in a community with a mix of agricultural and technology-sector economic anchors, and it serves a high-poverty student population. The academic proficiency numbers are low across the board, and the school has no trend data yet to show improvement or decline. A parent considering enrollment would want to ask directly about the school’s approach to supporting students who are behind grade level, what interventions are in place, and whether any recent instructional changes are underway. The absence of chronic-absenteeism data is a gap a family might want to discuss with the school, as attendance patterns often illuminate the daily experience of students. The Dalles itself offers a range of civic assets—riverfront parks, a community college, historic districts—that a family may value, but the school’s academic results are the central fact that a parent will need to evaluate against their own expectations and their child’s needs.
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