Highland Park Middle School, Beaverton OR

Original Research by School Decision on Highland Park Middle School

Highland Park Middle School serves grades six through eight in Beaverton, a mid-sized city in the Tualatin Valley that functions as both a major economic center for Washington County and a residential community. The school is part of the Beaverton School District, which recently opened a new middle school in 2021, expanding capacity and adjusting feeder patterns.

The school’s student body is largely white, with a substantial Hispanic minority and smaller Asian and multiracial populations. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a middle-income range compared to other public schools in the area. State testing results from the most recent year show that in English language arts, just under half of students met proficiency standards. The strongest performance came from seventh graders, while eighth-grade results were weaker. In math, the overall proficiency rate was lower, with eighth graders again the weakest cohort. Science results for eighth graders were the lowest of all tested subjects. When placed against other districts in Washington County, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint of the cohort, though the range across districts is wide.

The Beaverton community provides a mixed setting for families. The city has encouraged transit-oriented development around its MAX Light Rail stations, and the downtown core features a farmer’s market, a food cart pod, and a performing arts center that opened in 2022. Much of the city remains suburban and car-dependent, with walkable street life concentrated around the transit center rather than spread across neighborhoods. Major employers include Nike, the school district itself, and technology companies such as Analog Devices and Tektronix. The area has seen steady growth, with development focused on densifying around transit corridors.

For a parent considering Highland Park, the academic picture is mixed. The school’s proficiency rates are not high in absolute terms, particularly in math and science, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand specific supports or curriculum approaches. The eighth-grade dip is also worth exploring. On the positive side, the school sits in a district with solid infrastructure and resources, and the broader Beaverton area offers amenities and employment that many families find appealing. The student demographics reflect the wider community’s mix of economic and cultural backgrounds. The lack of data on special education and English learner populations, as well as on discipline and attendance, means a parent should ask the school directly about these areas. The school itself is a regular public middle school with no charter or magnet designation, and it did not receive Title I funding in the available data, which aligns with its moderate free-lunch share. Overall, Highland Park presents a conventional middle school experience in a well-established suburban district, with academic results that are around the middle of the pack for its county and that leave room for improvement.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 41% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 44% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 39% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 51% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 54% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 50% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 33% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolBeaverton SD 48J, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.