The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Science. The lowest is 54% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Grout Elementary School
Grout Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Portland Public Schools system, the largest district in Oregon. The school sits on SE Holgate Boulevard in Portland’s inner southeast neighborhoods, an area of the city with a mix of older homes, apartment buildings, and commercial corridors. Families considering Grout are looking at an elementary school that is part of a district undergoing significant change.
Portland itself is Oregon’s largest city, a major Pacific Northwest metro center with an economy driven by technology, athletic brands, healthcare, and shipping. The school is located in the city’s east side, where residential neighborhoods are threaded with commercial corridors like Division and Hawthorne. The district, Portland Public Schools, has seen a substantial enrollment decline from pre-pandemic levels and in recent years has undertaken a school consolidation process, proposing closures and mergers due to budget pressures and underutilized buildings. A large capital construction bond, the largest school bond in Oregon history, went before voters in late 2024 to fund facility improvements, seismic retrofits, and safety upgrades across the district. The outcome of that bond directly affects the condition of school buildings like Grout’s and district property taxes. These district-level shifts matter for a family choosing an elementary school now, because attendance boundaries, school assignments, and building conditions may change.
Grout’s enrollment is relatively small for an elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Racially, the student body is majority white, with a notable share of Asian students and smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, multiracial, and other backgrounds. The school is not a magnet or charter, and Title I status was not reported in available data.
On state assessments from the most recent testing year, Grout’s results show a pattern that shifts by grade level. In third grade, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were in the lower range. Fourth grade English language arts proficiency was higher, while math remained at a similar level. Fifth grade results were notably stronger, with proficiency rates well above the lower grades in both math and English language arts, and a science proficiency rate that was also strong. Looking at the school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades, Grout placed in the top quartile among elementary schools within Multnomah County. This is a meaningful distinction: the school’s overall performance is above the midpoint of its county peers, but the variation between grade levels suggests that student outcomes can differ substantially depending on the cohort and teacher assignment. A parent may want to ask the school about how it supports students in the earlier grades and what approaches lead to the stronger fifth-grade results.
Because Grout serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate data, and chronic absenteeism data was not available in the records examined. Special education and English learner counts were also not reported in the data provided, so the school’s support infrastructure for those students is not visible here. A parent should confirm those resources directly with the school or district.
Housing in the area around Grout carries a significant price tag. Home values in the zip code are above the statewide median, and rents follow that pattern. Buying a home near the school would require income well above the national median, and monthly mortgage costs are substantially higher than typical rent in the area. Renting is more financially accessible, though still costly by national standards. The broader Portland metro area has seen rising housing costs driven by gentrification since the 1990s, and the city’s population has declined modestly since the 2020 census, while the metro region outside the city limits continues to grow.
The school’s neighborhood offers the walkability, transit access, and bike infrastructure Portland is known for. Families living near Grout can reach commercial streets and parks without a car. The downtown core, with its civic institutions and transit hub, is within a manageable distance by bus or light rail, though the school itself sits in a residential area rather than a dense urban center.
For a family trying to gauge fit, Grout is a relatively small elementary school with a diverse-enough student body, in a high-cost urban housing market, and sitting inside a large district navigating enrollment decline and facility planning. The academic picture is mixed by grade level but strong enough overall to place the school well among its county peers. The open questions around early-grade support and the district’s consolidation plans are worth investigating further before deciding.
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