The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Condon Elementary School
Condon Elementary School sits in the small farming and ranching community of Condon, the county seat of Gilliam County in rural Eastern Oregon. It is a regular public school serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade, which means a child can attend here from the start of their school career until they enter high school. The school is the only K-8 option in the Condon School District, which also operates a separate high school within the same small town.
The academic picture at Condon Elementary is shaped by its very small enrollment. State test results are reported for only a few grade levels; results for most grades are suppressed because the number of students tested is too small to release publicly without risking individual student identification. This is a common pattern in small rural schools and does not by itself indicate weak or strong performance. For the grades where data is available, proficiency rates across English language arts, math, and science vary noticeably. In English language arts, one grade level saw proficiency near the average expectation while another fell substantially below. In math, results also ranged, with one grade showing a rate in the lower range and another approaching the midpoint. Science results were similarly mixed. Because of the small number of students per grade, these single-year snapshots can shift significantly from one year to the next. When looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to the other districts in Gilliam County, a set of only three districts. That suggests that among the limited local peers, Condon Elementary is on the higher end, though the pool is small and the margin between them is narrow.
No graduation rate is reported because the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. The school’s programs and course access offerings were not included in the available data, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about electives, enrichment, and any career-connected learning for middle-grade students.
The student body is predominantly White, with a Hispanic share and a small number of students identifying with two or more races and a very small American Indian or Alaska Native population. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the area’s economic circumstances. The school’s enrollment is small, with a single class per grade, meaning children will spend their school years in a tight-knit group with familiar classmates and teachers.
Condon itself is a town of slow, steady decline in population over recent decades, but with visible reinvestment in its historic Main Street district. The restored commercial blocks, city park used for events, and relocated county library downtown point to a community that values its civic core. Housing values in the town’s ZIP code are well below the state and national benchmarks, making homeownership more accessible than in much of Oregon, though the local economy is driven by agriculture and government employment. The school is integrated into the town’s compact footprint, within walking distance of downtown and civic institutions.
For a family looking for a very small, rural school where children progress through elementary and middle school in one building, Condon Elementary offers an environment where class sizes are effectively tiny and the school is a central part of a close community. Parents should expect that state test data will give only a partial picture of academic performance and that the school’s small scale limits the breadth of programs compared to larger districts. A direct conversation with the principal or a visit would fill in the gaps that the data leaves open.
See more original research from School Decision →