The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Cornelius Elementary School
Cornelius Elementary School is a regular public school in the Forest Grove School District 15, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. The school sits in the small city of Cornelius, located along the Tualatin Valley Highway between Forest Grove and Hillsboro in Washington County. Cornelius was originally an agricultural and railroad town from the 1870s, and it has increasingly become a Portland suburb while retaining a farming-community identity. The city is experiencing rapid residential growth and has a notably bilingual and Latino cultural presence; a substantial share of residents report Spanish as a primary language.
The student body at Cornelius Elementary is predominantly Hispanic, reflecting the surrounding community. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Enrollment is in the mid-hundreds, with the school covering early elementary grades only. Because the school does not serve grades in which Oregon administers high school accountability measures, there is no graduation rate or chronic absenteeism data for this school. The school is not a charter or magnet, and information on its Title I status was not available in the data provided.
On the Oregon Statewide Assessment System for the 2024-2025 school year, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were below the midpoint among tested grades. Only a single year of results was available, so no trend can be established. In the comparison across elementary schools within Washington County districts, Cornelius Elementary’s overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to investigate what academic supports and interventions are in place, particularly for students who are still building foundational skills in the early grades. The data did not include staffing ratios, discipline records, or program offerings, so those aspects of the school experience cannot be characterized here.
The neighborhood around the school is compact and suburban in character. City Hall is located near Cornelius Elementary, and the Cornelius Public Library serves as a civic anchor. Public transit is provided by TriMet bus line 57, which connects Cornelius to Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Beaverton, and the MAX light rail system. The city has a Community Development department and is actively managing growth; housing values in the area have seen modest movement in the recent period. The school’s parent district, Forest Grove SD 15, showed no significant recent changes identified in publicly available information for this report.
Cornelius Elementary is a young-grades public school in a fast-growing, predominantly Latino community west of Portland. Academic proficiency measures are low relative to county peers, and families considering the school should seek out specific information about English learner supports, early literacy programs, and the school’s approach to intervention. The school sits within a city that retains a working agricultural history while absorbing suburban growth, with civic life centered near the school and library rather than a traditional downtown pedestrian district.
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