The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Crossler Middle School
Crossler Middle School serves grades six through eight in the Salem-Keizer School District, the large district centered on Oregon’s state capital. The school sits in the southern part of Salem, a city that blends state government, food processing, and residential neighborhoods along the Willamette Valley. Salem has grown steadily and remains the state’s second-largest city, with a mix of historic downtown, suburban subdivisions, and commercial corridors. The district itself has been through recent budget pressures, closing several elementary schools, while voters approved a major construction bond in 2022 that funds safety and classroom upgrades across the system. A new three-year strategic plan approved in 2025 emphasizes academic excellence, belonging, and workforce readiness, which will shape the direction for Crossler and its sister schools.
Crossler is a regular public school enrolling students in a single middle school grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest share, and smaller numbers of students who are Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, multiracial, or American Indian or Alaska Native. About two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, giving the school a high-poverty profile relative to many schools. This economic context matters for families weighing the school’s peer environment and support resources.
State assessment results for the 2024-2025 school year show performance that falls below the midpoint among tested schools in Marion County. In English language arts, proficiency rates across the three grades ranged from just under a third in sixth grade to just under half in seventh grade, with eighth grade again at roughly a third proficient. In math, proficiency rates were lower, settling around a quarter to just under a third across grades. Science, tested only in eighth grade, had about a quarter of students reaching proficiency. These are soft numbers. A parent considering Crossler may want to ask the school how it supports students who are below grade-level benchmarks, what interventions are in place, and how the school is working to improve outcomes.
No data was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or course access, so those dimensions of school environment cannot be characterized from the evidence at hand. Similarly, the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not reported. These gaps would be reasonable points for a family to raise directly with the school.
Because Crossler is a middle school serving only grades six through eight, it has no graduation rate to report. That metric does not apply here, and its absence is not a signal about student outcomes.
Housing in the school’s zip code shows home values around the middle of the state’s range, with rents rising modestly. The cost of buying versus renting in this area tilts toward renting for the typical household, given the estimated monthly mortgage payment exceeds the median rent by a noticeable margin. The unemployment rate nationally sits at a moderate level, and the national median household income has held fairly steady in recent years. These economic conditions are shared broadly with the Salem area.
The school is part of a large district that has recently closed elementary schools to close budget gaps, meaning some families may be reassigned or face changed boundaries. The bond approved in 2022 should bring facility improvements, and the new strategic plan signals an effort to raise academic performance and strengthen connections to workforce pathways. For a family looking at Crossler, the main picture is a large middle school in a state capital region, serving a high-poverty student population with state test results that are below the county midpoint. The school’s strengths may lie in the supports and programs it offers, but those are not captured in the available data. A parent would be well served to visit, talk to staff about academic interventions and enrichment, and understand how the school’s environment fits their child’s needs.
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