The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Creswell Middle School
Creswell Middle School serves grades six through eight and is one of three schools in the Creswell School District, a small district that also operates an elementary school and a high school. The school sits in the town of Creswell, a compact, primarily residential community in the Willamette Valley about a twelve-mile drive south of Eugene along Interstate 5. Creswell is small and has the feel of a traditional small town; its civic and school buildings are close to one another. The city is actively planning to expand its urban growth boundary, which suggests pressure for more housing and development in the coming years. For now, the town remains modest in size, and a large share of its working residents likely commute north to the Eugene-Springfield area, given that no major employers were identified within city limits.
The school’s enrollment is in the mid-hundreds for a middle school that serves three grades. A substantial share of students, about half, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic population and a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races. The school is a regular public school and operates as a traditional middle school, not a charter or magnet.
On state assessments, which measure proficiency in English language arts, math, and science, the school’s results are mixed. Proficiency rates in English language arts vary by grade, with the highest performance in seventh grade, where a clear majority of students met the bar. Math proficiency is lower across all three grades, with fewer than three in ten students scoring proficient in each grade tested. Eighth-grade science proficiency sits roughly in the middle, with about a third of students meeting the standard. Across all subjects and grades combined, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Lane County. That is a relative strength: compared to other districts in the county, this school’s overall academic performance is above the midpoint, though the absolute numbers show plenty of room for growth, particularly in math. The state testing data available covers only a single year, so there is no trend line to show whether performance is improving or declining.
Because the school serves only grades six through eight, there is no graduation rate to report. This is standard for a middle school. Other metrics that a parent might look for, such as chronic absenteeism, discipline data, and the share of students with disabilities or English learners, are not available in the data. A parent may want to ask the school directly about those areas, especially student support services, to get a fuller picture of the school environment.
The district itself has no publicly reported recent changes or strategic priorities that came through in our research, so there is little to note about shifts in programming or leadership.
For a family considering this school, the picture is that of a small-town middle school serving a modest, mostly white student body with a significant share of students from lower-income households. Academically, the school is a middle-of-the-pack performer within Lane County when looking at overall proficiency, with stronger English language arts results in some grades and weaker math performance across the board. The cost of living in the area is a factor: housing prices in Creswell’s ZIP code are close to the statewide average, and while still more affordable than many parts of the country, they reflect the broader pressures of Oregon’s housing market. The town is small, with limited public transit and a largely suburban character, but its proximity to Eugene gives residents access to a larger job base and more services. This is a school that fits a family looking for a small, community-based middle school in a growing but still quiet town, with academic results that warrant a close look, especially in math, before enrolling.
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