The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in English language arts. The lowest is 53% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Green Mountain School
Green Mountain School serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade on a single campus in the rural outskirts of Woodland, Washington. It is a regular public school and the only school in the Green Mountain School District. This is a small school with a predominantly white student population, where about a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The school draws families who live in the surrounding unincorporated area, a setting that is more sparsely populated than Woodland itself.
The school does not serve high school grades, so it has no graduation rate to report. State testing data is available for most grade levels, and the picture it paints is one of solid performance that is strongest in the middle elementary years. In English language arts, the majority of students at every tested grade level met the state proficiency standard, with a high point in fifth grade and consistently good results through seventh grade. Math proficiency was more variable. It was strongest in sixth grade, where a large majority of students scored proficient, but it dipped in seventh and eighth grades, with the eighth-grade math proficiency rate notably lower. Science results were similarly uneven, with fifth graders posting a strong performance and eighth graders showing a much weaker one. A parent may want to ask the school about the drop in math and science performance between the fifth and eighth grade years, and what supports are in place for students making that transition. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Clark County, a sign that its best scores are high enough to pull the average up.
The district has made several recent investments that affect the daily experience of students. Curriculum changes have been adopted in recent years across math, science, and English language arts, meaning the instructional materials students are using are newer than in many schools. The campus itself has seen tangible upgrades, including a remodeled cafeteria that now allows the school to prepare fresh meals daily rather than relying on pre-packaged food, a new play shed completed in late 2022, and a full renovation of the middle school restrooms. These are practical, visible improvements to the physical environment.
Woodland itself, where the school’s mailing address is located, is a small but growing city at the junction of Interstate 5 and a state highway, straddling both Cowlitz and Clark counties. It has a traditional small-town layout with an Old Town core near the Lewis River, and it hosts the Planter’s Days festival, billed as the longest continuously running community celebration in the state. The city is undertaking a comprehensive plan update, signaling active planning for continued growth. The housing market in the area carries a home value well above the national typical, and rents are high enough that a family considering a move here should factor in the cost of housing. The area’s largest employment sectors are health care and manufacturing. The school sits outside the main town, on Grinnell Road, so families will want to account for a rural commute.
The student body is small, with enrollment that means most students will know one another across grade levels. The school’s composition is not diverse, which is purely a characteristic of the community it serves and is neither a strength nor a weakness in itself. A family moving here from a more diverse area may want to consider what that means for their child’s peer environment. The school does not serve high school grades, so students must transition to another district or school for ninth through twelfth grade, a detail that families planning for the long term should investigate.
The data does not include information on discipline, attendance, staffing ratios, chronic absenteeism, or special education and English learner populations, so a parent should ask the school directly about student support systems and school climate. The combination of strong elementary ELA results, recent facility upgrades, and a small rural setting makes this a school that could appeal to families who value a close-knit, community-oriented environment and are comfortable with a commute. The weaker eighth-grade test results in math and science warrant a conversation with the school about how it prepares students for the transition to high school.
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