The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Culver Middle School
Culver Middle School serves students in sixth through eighth grade as a regular public school within the Culver School District 4. The school is a relatively small one, drawing from the town of Culver, a rural farming and recreational community in central Oregon’s high desert, tucked away from the main highway between Redmond and Madras. The town has experienced notable population growth in recent years, though it remains small, with an agricultural character and a significant Hispanic/Latino community. The school itself is part of a three-school district, and its location is integrated into the town fabric rather than isolated on a large campus.
The student body at Culver Middle School is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic cohort and a very small share of students who identify as two or more races or as Black. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need. Data on the shares of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not reported.
When it comes to academic performance, the picture is mixed across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, the school shows a range of outcomes. The most recent results for seventh graders place a majority of students at or above the proficiency standard, though the rate is lower for sixth graders and lower still for eighth graders. The overall proficiency rate across all tested grades in ELA is roughly at the midpoint of what is seen among Jefferson County schools. In math, the numbers are considerably softer. A portion of sixth graders met the proficiency bar, but the figure is much lower for seventh graders, and eighth-grade math results were so low that the data was suppressed and reported only as a very small range. The school’s overall math proficiency is significantly weaker than its ELA performance. In eighth-grade science, the share of students reaching the proficiency mark is modest. Looking at the school’s composite proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades, Culver Middle School sits above the midpoint among Jefferson County districts in the available comparison set, a measure that is shaped more by its ELA results than by its math and science outcomes. Because the data reflects only a single year of assessment results, there is no trend information to show whether performance is improving or declining.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing was not available, which means a parent would want to inquire directly with the school about these areas to get a full picture of the learning environment.
Culver Middle School fits a family looking for a small, rural middle school setting in a growing central Oregon community. The academic strengths are more apparent in reading and writing than in math and science, and the gaps in math proficiency at the upper grade levels are striking enough that a parent would likely want to ask the school about math curriculum, intervention supports, and how the school addresses those very low results. The student body is economically diverse, with a sizable Hispanic population, and the school reflects the broader demographic shifts of the town. The Culver district itself does not appear to have undergone major recent changes that would affect the school’s day-to-day operations, based on available information. For a family weighing this school, the central conversation will be about whether the school’s academic supports match the needs of their child, particularly in mathematics.
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