The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in English language arts. The lowest is 65% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Cedar Mill Elementary School
Cedar Mill Elementary School is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the western Portland area, part of the Beaverton School District 48J. The school sits in the Cedar Mill neighborhood, a residential enclave within Washington County that falls within Portland’s city limits but feels more like a suburban hillside community along the Sunset Corridor. The school’s enrollment is on the smaller side for its grade span, creating a scale where teachers and staff likely know most students by name.
The student body is majority white, with a substantial Asian population and a smaller Hispanic representation; Black, Native American, and Pacific Islander students together account for a very small share. Families of two or more races also make up a noticeable portion. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is low, reflecting the area’s overall affluence. Home values in the zip code are well above national and state medians, and rents track similarly high, consistent with the broader west-side Portland housing market that has seen significant appreciation over the past two decades. A parent considering this school should be aware that the neighborhood is expensive and that the school’s population skews economically comfortable.
Academically, Cedar Mill Elementary posted strong state assessment results. In both English language arts and mathematics, the school’s performance sits well above the median among districts in Washington County. The overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it among the higher-performing elementary schools in the county, a noteworthy position given that Washington County includes several well-regarded suburban districts. The strongest showing came in fourth-grade ELA and math, where proficiency rates were particularly high. Third- and fifth-grade math were softer by comparison, though still better than the county median, and fifth-grade science landed solidly in the upper range. Because Oregon’s state assessment underwent a change in recent years, these results represent a single year of data; there is no multi-year trend available yet to confirm consistency. Parents may want to ask the school how scores have trended in prior years under the old assessment to gauge stability.
As an elementary school, Cedar Mill does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, special education identification, and English learner services were not available in this profile. A parent interested in how the school supports students with disabilities or multilingual learners should request that information directly from the school or the Beaverton district office.
The school’s parent district, Beaverton SD 48J, recently opened Tumwater Middle School in 2021, which reconfigured feeder patterns for many elementary schools in the district. Cedar Mill Elementary feeds into a specific middle school pathway, so families living in this attendance area should confirm the current middle school assignment, as boundaries may have shifted with the new school opening.
For whom does this school fit? Families who prioritize strong academic performance in a small-scale, neighborhood elementary setting will find Cedar Mill’s results attractive, especially those already rooted in or moving to the high-cost west-side Portland market. The school’s low economic diversity and predominantly white and Asian enrollment mean it may feel less representative of the broader metro area’s demographics, a characteristic some families weigh and others accept as the norm in this corner of Washington County. The missing data on special education and English learner supports means a parent whose child needs those services should press the school for specifics before enrolling. Overall, the available evidence paints a picture of a well-regarded elementary school in an affluent suburban pocket of Portland, delivering strong academic outcomes on state tests.
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