Best Schools in Grants Pass, Oregon

Grants Pass has 19 ranked public schools, with scores spanning a wide range around a city average of 5.9 out of 10. That average sits in the middle tier, meaning parents will find real variation across buildings. The gap between the highest-scoring school and the city mean is nearly three full points — a spread that makes address-level research more important than city-level averages alone.

The strongest options cluster at the elementary level. Riverside Elementary School leads the city with an 8.7 rating, the highest score in Grants Pass and nearly three points above the city average. Manzanita Elementary (8.1) and Fruitdale Elementary (7.8) round out a strong elementary cohort. Altogether, five schools — 26% of the city's ranked public schools — score at or above 7.0, giving families with younger children a meaningful set of high-quality options if they can access the right attendance zones.

Performance context shifts at the secondary level. Grants Pass High School scores 7.2, the city's only rated high school and a solid mark above the 5.9 city average. South Middle School (7.0) also clears the 7+ threshold. The remaining 14 schools score below 7.0, pulling the city average down — parents should check individual school scores rather than relying on the city-wide figure when evaluating specific neighborhoods.

For families choosing where to live in Grants Pass, elementary attendance zone is the highest-leverage decision. The three leading elementaries score between 7.8 and 8.7, well above the city mean, so address research pays off most at this level. The high school's 7.2 rating provides a solid baseline for older students. With 74% of ranked schools falling below the 7.0 mark, the spread between top and bottom schools is wide enough that school-by-school comparison — not district-level averages — is the right starting point.