Scotts Mills Elementary School, Scotts Mills OR

Original Research by School Decision on Scotts Mills Elementary School

Scotts Mills Elementary School serves a small, rural community in Marion County, educating students from kindergarten through eighth grade within the Silver Falls School District. The town of Scotts Mills itself is a very compact residential settlement of modest size, with limited commercial activity. Its civic life centers on City Hall with restricted hours and the seasonal Scotts Mills Park along Butte Creek. The school is the only educational institution within the town, and it draws from a community that is overwhelmingly residential and has seen very modest population growth in recent years, with a slight recent decline reported.

The student body at Scotts Mills Elementary is small, and the demographic profile is predominantly one race, with a comparatively very small share of students from other racial backgrounds. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of household economic need that is substantial and gives the school a higher-need profile than a more affluent public school.

On state assessments in math, English language arts, and science, the school’s proficiency rates are generally below the midpoint when compared to other districts across Marion County. In math, proficiency rates for grades three through six were low, with fourth grade at the lower end of that range. In English language arts, the picture was mixed: third grade was low, but fourth grade reached the midpoint, while the other tested grades were again low. A single grade level tested in science also showed a low proficiency rate. For the seventh and eighth grades, state assessment results were not reported, likely due to small group sizes that schools often suppress for privacy; a parent may want to ask the school directly how those older students are performing. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint within its county comparison, signaling an area where families will want to understand the academic support the school provides.

Because Scotts Mills Elementary serves only through eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Data on course access, staffing levels, and chronic absenteeism were not available in the provided information. The district brief turned up no recent major changes or initiatives from Silver Falls SD 4J that would shape a parent’s view of the school.

Housing values in the area are above the national median, and the typical monthly mortgage payment is higher than the typical rent, which may be a factor for families weighing a move to the community. The economic context nationally shows a stable unemployment rate and moderate mortgage rates.

This is a small school in a rural setting with a student body that has significant economic needs, and its academic results on state tests are weaker than many of its county peers. A family considering Scotts Mills Elementary should expect a close-knit environment and may want to investigate what academic interventions and enrichment are in place, particularly in math and reading, and how the school supports students as they prepare for high school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 46% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 42% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 38% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 34% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 47% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 60% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 48% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 36% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolSilver Falls SD 4J, 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.