Molalla River Academy, Molalla OR

Original Research by School Decision on Molalla River Academy

Molalla River Academy is a K-8 charter school in Molalla, a small city in the foothills of the Cascade Range in Clackamas County. The school operates as a regular public charter within the Molalla River School District, and its grade configuration means there is no high school program, no graduation rate to report, and no advanced placement or dual-credit offerings that typically apply to upper grades.

The school enrolls a small student body, predominantly white, with a notable share identifying as Hispanic. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, giving the school a moderately higher level of economic need relative to its overall size. Data on the percentage of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the records reviewed, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support populations.

On state assessments administered in the most recent testing year, student proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were low when compared with the patterns seen across Clackamas County districts overall. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school's composite proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in the county. Within the school, results varied by grade. Eighth graders posted higher proficiency in math and science than earlier grades, while middle-grade results in grades six and seven were notably lower, particularly in math. Only a single year of state test data was available, so no trend can be drawn about improvement or decline over time. Parents looking for year-over-year growth patterns will find little to go on from the public record.

Because the school serves grades kindergarten through eight, several measures commonly used for high schools—graduation rate, college readiness indicators, chronic absenteeism rates—do not apply, or data was not reported. No information on disciplinary actions, student attendance patterns, or staffing ratios was provided in the data sources examined. Families interested in those details would need to request them from the school.

Molalla itself is set in a landscape of farms, timberlands, and rock quarries, and the town has a compact historic downtown. The city has grown steadily in recent decades, shifting from a lumber-based economy toward commerce and agritourism. Housing values in the area are roughly in line with state medians, though the monthly cost to own a home is significantly higher than the cost to rent, reflecting the broader national housing market. The school is located on Callahan Road, south of the town center, in a more rural part of the district. A search for recent changes or strategic priorities from the district did not turn up substantial publicly reported information.

In sum, Molalla River Academy offers a small, K-8 charter setting in a growing exurban community. Its state test results are below the midpoint for Clackamas County, with some grade-level variation, and the available public data is limited in scope. Families considering the school will want to inquire directly about special education services, English learner supports, and any academic improvement efforts underway.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 24% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 29% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 19% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 26% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 23% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 32% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 32% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 50% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 35% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 49% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 38% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 24% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 21% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

This schoolMolalla River SD 35, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.