William E Miller Elementary, Bend OR

Original Research by School Decision on William E Miller Elementary

William E Miller Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in Bend, Oregon, part of the Bend-La Pine Schools district. The school sits in a city that has transformed from a logging town into a fast-growing hub for tourism and outdoor recreation, with the Deschutes River running through town and Mount Bachelor drawing visitors year-round. The area’s housing market reflects that growth pressures: home values sit well above the state median, and rents have been climbing, which means families moving into the attendance zone likely face a steep cost of entry.

Academically, Miller Elementary posts results that stand out in its county. On the state’s 2024-2025 assessments, a strong majority of students met proficiency standards in English language arts across all tested grades, and the pattern was similar in math, with most students in each grade level scoring at or above the bar. Science results were weaker, with fewer than half of fifth graders reaching proficiency, a gap that a parent may want to ask the school about directly. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades placed the school in the top quarter relative to other elementary schools within Deschutes County’s districts, a notable showing in a county that includes several other schools.

The student body is predominantly white, with small representations of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a higher-income bracket compared to many Oregon elementary schools. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported, and the school did not provide discipline or chronic absenteeism figures, so those dimensions are not available to assess. The lack of special-population data means a parent with a child who may need those supports should follow up with the school directly.

Bend’s rapid population growth is shaping the district. In 2021, the district opened a new high school on the east side to relieve overcrowding, and voters in 2022 approved a large bond measure for new elementary school construction, facility upgrades, and safety improvements across the system. That bond will fund a new elementary school, which could eventually shift attendance boundaries and capacity. For now, Miller Elementary operates in a city where new development is constant and where the school’s enrollment is modest for an elementary building.

The school itself offers no unusual program designations—it is a regular public school without charter or magnet status, and it does not receive Title I funding, consistent with its relatively low share of students from low-income households. Without course-access or staffing data, it is hard to say whether the school offers enrichment beyond the core subjects. What the available evidence shows is a school with consistently strong reading and math outcomes, a less certain picture in science, and an economic context that reflects Bend’s upscale and growing housing market. Parents considering the school should weigh those academic strengths against the unknowns around student support services and the broader cost of living in the area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 52% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 47% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 39% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 52% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 57% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 58% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 35% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

This schoolBend-LaPine Administrative SD 1, 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.