Best Schools in Multnomah County, Oregon
153 ranked schools in Multnomah County
Introduction
Multnomah County sits at the heart of the Portland metro, and for families thinking about where to put down roots, its schools tell an interesting story. The county spans everything from dense urban neighborhoods in Portland proper to quieter pockets along the Willamette River, and school quality varies significantly depending on which corner of the county you're looking at. That range is exactly why it's worth understanding the landscape before choosing a neighborhood.
What stands out most about Multnomah County's top performers is how concentrated they are — geographically and by district. A handful of schools in southwest and northeast Portland consistently rank at or near the top of Oregon's public school rankings, and two districts in particular, Portland SD 1J and the small but high-performing Riverdale SD 51J, account for nearly every school on this list. Families relocating to the Portland area or moving within it will find that a few specific neighborhoods offer access to schools that compete with the best in the state.
The Districts That Stand Out
Portland SD 1J
Portland SD 1J is the county's dominant district by size, and its range reflects that — there are schools at virtually every point on the performance spectrum. But the district's top performers are genuinely strong. Several Portland SD 1J elementary schools score at the 99th percentile in both English and Math, and at the middle and high school levels, the district has multiple schools in the top 5% statewide.
At the elementary level, Rieke Elementary, Alameda Elementary, and Abernethy Elementary all score at the 99th percentile overall, with 99th percentile marks in both English and Math. These aren't outliers or anomalies — they're schools that have held these positions consistently, serving neighborhoods that tend to attract families who are deeply engaged in school communities. Rieke sits in the Healy Heights area of southwest Portland, while Alameda and Abernethy are both in northeast Portland neighborhoods that have long been popular with families for exactly this reason.
The middle school picture is similarly strong at the top. Winterhaven School and Beverly Cleary School both score at the 100th percentile in both English and Math, placing them at the very top of Oregon's middle school rankings. Winterhaven, which draws from across the city through a lottery, has a math and science focus that makes it a particular draw for families interested in STEM. Beverly Cleary, serving the Grant Park and Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhoods, is one of the more sought-after middle schools in the city. Sellwood Middle School comes in at the 97th percentile overall, with Mt Tabor Middle School and Gray Middle School both sitting at the 95th percentile — respectable marks that reflect strong, stable neighborhood schools rather than anything flashy.
At the high school level, Grant High School scores at the 97th percentile overall (97th in English, 96th in Math), and Cleveland High School sits at the 96th overall, with a particularly strong Math score at the 96th percentile. Lincoln High School, which moved into a new building in 2021, holds the 95th percentile overall. These are schools that families in their attendance zones take seriously, and housing in those zones tends to reflect that.
Portland SD 1J is not a uniform district, and it's worth being clear about that. The schools on this list are clustered in specific neighborhoods — primarily southwest Portland, northeast Portland, and the inner southeast. Families researching Portland SD 1J schools should look at school-level data rather than treating the district as a single entity.
Riverdale SD 51J
Riverdale is one of the smallest school districts in Oregon, serving a narrow slice of southwest Portland along the Willamette River. Its enrollment is small and its footprint is limited, but its academic performance is among the highest in the state at both the elementary and high school levels.
Riverdale Grade School scores at the 100th percentile in English and the 98th in Math, for an overall ranking at the 99th percentile. Riverdale High School matches that at the 99th percentile overall, with 99th percentile scores in both English and Math. For a district with only two schools, that kind of consistency is notable — these aren't one-year spikes but sustained performance across multiple years of data.
The community Riverdale serves is relatively affluent and tight-knit. Because it's a small district, the schools feel more like a close community than an institution, and parent involvement tends to be high. Families who move specifically for Riverdale schools do exist, and the district has a clear reputation among Portland parents who pay close attention to school data. The tradeoff is that the geographic area is small, housing options are limited, and the district doesn't offer the same range of programs or extracurriculars that a larger district can.
Schools Worth Knowing About
Le Monde French Immersion Public Charter School is one of the more unusual schools in the Portland area — a public charter that offers full French immersion from kindergarten through eighth grade. It scores at the 100th percentile in English and the 99th in Math, for an overall ranking at the 100th percentile. That combination of immersive language education and top-tier academic outcomes attracts families looking for something beyond a standard curriculum, particularly those with an interest in multilingualism or international backgrounds.
Winterhaven School is worth calling out separately from the broader middle school rankings because of its model. It's a K–8 school with a math and science focus, and students apply through a district lottery rather than an attendance zone — which means families anywhere in Portland can pursue it. Scoring at the 100th percentile in both English and Math at the middle school level, it's one of those schools that comes up in nearly every conversation Portland parents have about public schools.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School rounds out the top five high schools in the county with an 80th percentile overall ranking — lower than the others on this list, but worth understanding in context. The school has a social justice and community-focused identity that distinguishes it from more traditionally academic high schools, and its English score (70th percentile) and Math score (83rd percentile) reflect a school that is still finding its footing academically. Families who prioritize a certain kind of school culture alongside academics tend to find it worth a closer look.
How We Rank Schools
The School Advocate ranks every public school in Oregon using state assessment data. English scores account for 40% of the overall ranking, Math accounts for 40%, and Science makes up the remaining 20%. More recent school years are weighted more heavily to reflect current performance rather than historical averages. Rankings are expressed as percentiles relative to all public schools in the state, so a school at the 95th percentile is outperforming 95% of Oregon public schools.
Compare Schools Yourself
For parents who want to go deeper — whether that's comparing two elementary schools in the same neighborhood or looking at how a middle school has trended over time — the comparison tool at /compare lets you put any two schools side by side across all the metrics that go into our rankings.
Top Elementary Schools
| Rank | School | District | City | English | Math | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Monde French Immersion Public Charter School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 100 | 99 | 100 |
| 2 | Rieke Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 3 | Riverdale Grade School | Riverdale SD 51J | Portland | 100 | 98 | 99 |
| 4 | Alameda Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 5 | Abernethy Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 6 | Forest Park Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 99 | 99 | 98 |
| 7 | Stephenson Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 98 | 98 | 98 |
| 8 | Ainsworth Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 98 | 98 | 98 |
| 9 | Llewellyn Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 97 | 98 | 98 |
| 10 | Bridlemile Elementary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 97 | 97 | 98 |
Top Middle Schools
| Rank | School | District | City | English | Math | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winterhaven School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | Beverly Cleary School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 3 | Sellwood Middle School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 96 | 97 | 97 |
| 4 | Mt Tabor Middle School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 94 | 96 | 95 |
| 5 | Gray Middle School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 97 | 92 | 95 |
| 6 | Jackson Middle School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 94 | 93 | 93 |
| 7 | Beaumont Middle School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 90 | 95 | 92 |
| 8 | Hosford Middle School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 92 | 89 | 90 |
| 9 | Sunnyside Environmental School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 88 | 90 | 90 |
| 10 | Metropolitan Learning Center | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 84 | 86 | 85 |
Top High Schools
| Rank | School | District | City | English | Math | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverdale High School | Riverdale SD 51J | Portland | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 2 | Grant High School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 97 | 96 | 97 |
| 3 | Cleveland High School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 94 | 96 | 96 |
| 4 | Lincoln High School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 96 | 94 | 95 |
| 5 | Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 70 | 83 | 80 |
| 6 | Benson Polytechnic High School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 56 | 73 | 66 |
| 7 | Leodis V. McDaniel High School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 51 | 75 | 66 |
| 8 | Franklin High School | Portland SD 1J | Portland | 72 | 54 | 64 |
| 9 | Springwater Trail High School | Gresham-Barlow SD 10J | Gresham | 83 | 42 | 61 |
| 10 | David Douglas High School | David Douglas SD 40 | Portland | 44 | 47 | 44 |