The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Butler Creek Elementary School
Butler Creek Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Gresham, part of the Centennial School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits in a city that draws students from three separate districts — Centennial, Gresham-Barlow, and Reynolds — each with schools spread across different neighborhoods rather than clustered downtown. Gresham’s historic downtown, its branch library, and Mount Hood Community College are within the city but on separate campuses, so the elementary school is part of a distributed landscape.
The school’s academic picture comes from a single year of state testing data for the 2024-2025 school year, and it shows noticeable variation by grade and subject. In third grade, roughly two out of five students met the state proficiency bar in both English language arts and math. Fifth graders posted a stronger result in ELA, where more than half of students were proficient, but math at that grade level was lower, around one in three. Fourth grade was the softest spot: fewer than one in five students were proficient in math, and only about one in four in ELA. Fifth-grade science proficiency was also below a quarter. The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades lands above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Multnomah County. With only one year of data, it is not possible to see a trend, and a parent may want to ask the school directly about progress over time, particularly the drop in fourth grade.
Enrollment is moderate for an elementary. A substantial share of students come from households with economic need, as indicated by the free or reduced-price lunch rate. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse: the largest group is white, followed by Asian students, then Hispanic students, with smaller shares of students who are Black, two or more races, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native. There are no data available on the proportion of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent seeking that information would need to request it from the school or district.
The surrounding housing market reflects the broader Portland metro area. Home values are moderate relative to national benchmarks, and rents are similarly positioned. The local unemployment rate and median household income align with national averages, suggesting a stable but not especially affluent community. Gresham itself offers a mix of city amenities and suburban residential areas, and the Centennial district serves a portion of the city.
No recent district-level changes were publicly reported that would be relevant to parents. The school environment data, including discipline, staffing, and attendance, were not available, which leaves open questions about school climate and class sizes. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
Butler Creek Elementary fits a family looking for a school with a diverse enrollment in a medium-cost housing area. The academic results are mixed, with some grades showing solid proficiency in reading and others lagging noticeably, especially in math at fourth grade. The lack of multi-year trend data and missing special-population counts means a parent should plan to visit, ask about supports for struggling students, and understand how the school addresses grade-level dips before making a decision.
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