Forks Middle School, Forks WA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Forks Middle School

Forks Middle School serves students in fifth through eighth grade in the Quillayute Valley School District, located in the small town of Forks on the western Olympic Peninsula. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits within a community that has transitioned from a timber-dependent economy to one shaped significantly by tourism, including visitors drawn to Olympic National Park and Twilight-related attractions. Forks is a low-density rural town with an auto-oriented layout, and the school is integrated into the compact town center rather than isolated on a distant campus.

The student body at Forks Middle School is diverse in its composition. White students make up the largest share, followed closely by Hispanic students, and a smaller portion of students identify as two or more races or American Indian or Alaska Native. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a large portion of families face economic challenges. This economic context matters for understanding the school's environment; the community has a higher-than-national median housing price relative to income, which can strain household budgets.

State testing data from the most recent school year provides a picture of academic performance. In English language arts, proficiency rates vary considerably by grade level. Fifth graders showed a proficiency rate well above the school's average, while sixth graders had a much lower rate. Seventh and eighth graders fell in between. Overall, the school's combined English language arts proficiency across all tested grades is below the midpoint for districts in Clallam County. In math, the pattern was more consistent but lower across the board, with each grade level showing a proficiency rate that is well below the county median. Science results, available for fifth and eighth graders, show a higher rate for fifth graders than for eighth graders. The school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Clallam County. These are soft spots a parent may want to look into further with the school to understand the academic support structures and any initiatives aimed at improvement.

Because the school serves only grades five through eight, there is no graduation rate to report. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism and on the number of students with individualized education programs or English learner status was not available in the provided information.

The district brief turned up little in the way of recent parent-relevant changes, so it is not possible to speak to any new programs, leadership shifts, or major district initiatives from that source.

For a middle school in a rural, working town with a substantial share of economically disadvantaged students, the academic numbers present a clear challenge. The school does not have a concentration of high proficiency relative to its county peers. Families considering Forks Middle School should expect a building that reflects the community it serves: a small, integrated school in a town that has seen economic transition, with a student population that is both racially diverse and predominantly low-income. The academic data suggests that while some students are meeting standards, particularly in fifth-grade English language arts and science, a majority of students across most tested areas are not at the proficiency level. A family moving to the area would benefit from direct conversation with the school about its instructional approach, intervention strategies, and any programs designed to lift student outcomes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 31%

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

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 14% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 13% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 24 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

even with state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 18% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 35% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 26% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

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

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

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

This schoolQuillayute Valley School District, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income34%Higher-income50%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income79%37 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income59%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income25%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income19%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income42%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income7%Higher-income31%24 pp gap