The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Tom Mccall Upper Elementary
Tom McCall Upper Elementary serves fifth and sixth graders in the Forest Grove School District, acting as a bridge between the district’s elementary schools and its secondary campuses. The school sits in a town that still feels distinct from the fast-growing tech corridor to its east: Forest Grove is a mix of older residential neighborhoods, a walkable downtown with independent shops and restaurants, and Pacific University’s campus at its center. The commute to Intel’s Ronler Acres campus or Nike’s World Headquarters is a straight shot east, but the town’s slower pace and historic housing stock give it a character of its own.
The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with slightly over half of students identifying as Hispanic and most of the remainder identifying as White. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s size, serving both fifth and sixth graders, is large enough to run a full schedule of classes and activities typical of an upper elementary or intermediate school.
State testing results for the 2024-2025 school year are available and provide a clear picture of academic performance. In English language arts, roughly one in three students met the state’s proficiency standard, with the sixth-grade cohort performing somewhat higher than the fifth-grade cohort. In math, fewer than one in five students met the proficiency bar. Science results, which are tested only at fifth grade, were in line with the math figure. When compared to other districts across Washington County, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This is a straightforward signal: by the metrics of state assessments, student performance is below the norms of the county. A parent moving into the area would want to ask the school directly about its academic improvement strategies, intervention programs, and how it supports students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks.
Because the school serves only fifth and sixth grades, many of the metrics that families often rely on for high schools or K-8 schools simply do not apply here. There is no graduation rate to report, no college readiness data such as Advanced Placement or dual-credit enrollment, and no chronic absenteeism or staffing data in the available records. The school’s approach to discipline and its course offerings beyond the core subjects were also not documented in the reviewed data. A parent focused on a full secondary experience with elective pathways and extracurricular breadth will find limited information at this grade level.
The broader Forest Grove community context matters for understanding the school. Housing values are roughly in line with the Oregon state median, and the local market shows modest year-over-year price softening, which may improve affordability relative to the Portland metro core. Rents have been rising slightly. The town has seen population growth over the past decade, partly through annexation and new subdivisions, and the city promotes a strategic planning framework to guide future development. The residential character varies considerably within city limits, from walkable historic districts near downtown to rural acreage on the edges South of the city, Tuality Forest Grove Hospital and Pacific University are significant local employers, and the TriMet bus line provides transit connections to Hillsboro and Beaverton.
Tom McCall Upper Elementary serves a defined two-year window in a student’s academic journey, and the available evidence points to an academic starting point where many students are still building toward proficiency. For a family considering this school, the central question is how the school is working to accelerate that progress. The data does not answer that question, but it does make clear that the school’s current test results are well below the county median, which is a fact worth discussing directly with the school principal or district office. The community itself offers a mix of small-town feel and metropolitan access that may appeal to families seeking that balance, while the housing market remains more accessible than in the core of the Portland metro.
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