Metropolitan Learning Center, Portland OR

Original Research by School Decision on Metropolitan Learning Center

Metropolitan Learning Center is an alternative school within Portland Public Schools serving kindergarten through twelfth grade. Alternative schools in Oregon are public schools designed for students who benefit from a nontraditional approach, and families considering this school should understand that its mission and peer environment differ from a conventional zoned school. The school is located in Portland’s Northwest district, near the Pearl District and the industrial riverfront, an area known for walkable streets, mixed-use development, and dense urban living.

The student body is small for a K-12 setting, with enrollment spread across every grade level. The middle grades hold the largest groups, while the high school grades are notably smaller, with a handful of students per grade. Racially, the student population is predominantly white, with a modest share of students who are Hispanic, of two or more races, Black, and Asian. About a quarter of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that places the school’s economic profile below the district’s overall average. The school is not a charter school and does not have magnet status, and federal civil rights data on discipline, special education, and English learner populations were not available in the data reviewed.

Academically, the school posted state assessment results for the most recent testing year across grades three through eight. Proficiency in English language arts varied widely by grade level. Some elementary grades showed strong performance, with the majority of students meeting the standard, while middle school grades were more mixed, with roughly half or fewer students proficient. In math, the pattern was similar: early elementary grades had a solid share of students proficient, but proficiency declined across the middle grades, with some years showing a minority of students meeting the bar. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grade, followed this pattern, with a stronger showing in fifth grade and a weaker one in eighth. When compared to all districts across Multnomah County by their overall proficiency index, the school landed in the top quartile, suggesting that despite variability within its own grade levels, its combined performance across subjects and tested grades is strong relative to many other schools in the county. Because this is a single year of data with no prior trend available, a parent may want to ask the school for longitudinal results to see how these numbers shift over time.

The school serves all grades through twelfth, but the high school portion is very small. The data included no graduation rate, ACT or SAT participation, or postsecondary outcomes; this is a meaningful gap for a parent evaluating the upper grades. A parent with a high schooler should investigate directly what pathways the school offers for diplomas, college preparation, and career or dual-credit coursework, as the traditional graduation target used in Oregon’s public reporting was not present in the available data.

Portland itself is a major city with a technology and manufacturing economy anchored by large employers in health care, athletic apparel, and shipping. Housing in the school’s immediate zip code is expensive relative to the metro area, with home values that have declined measurably in the past year and rents that have held steady. The school sits within a district that has faced enrollment decline and is currently undergoing a school consolidation and long-range facility planning process that has involved proposals to close or merge multiple buildings. The district’s largest-ever capital bond, which went to voters on the same cycle, funds facility improvements and seismic retrofits; the outcome of that measure and the school closure decisions would be important for any family to confirm directly, as they affect the long-term stability of any individual school within the system.

For a family considering Metropolitan Learning Center, the key considerations are whether an alternative, small-school model that spans elementary through high school is the right fit for their child, and whether the academic variability across grade levels and the absence of high school outcome data are concerns they want to explore further with the school. The school’s overall test performance relative to other schools in Multnomah County is a positive signal, but the small high school program and missing graduation data mean the upper-grade experience requires direct investigation.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

60-79%Cohort of 24 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

326 schools plotted. 10 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 56% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 56% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 49% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 46% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 50% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 46% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 55% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 59% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 583%

School 83% · District 60% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 55% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 59% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 57% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 45% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 41% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

This schoolPortland SD 1J, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.