The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Math. The lowest is 35% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Rose City Park
Rose City Park is a regular public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Portland’s Northeast neighborhood. It is part of Portland School District 1J, the state’s largest school system. The school sits on Northeast 57th Avenue in a residential part of the city, within a short distance of commercial corridors and parks.
The student body is diverse. White and Asian students each make up a large share of enrollment, with a smaller but noticeable group identifying as two or more races. Black and Hispanic students are present in smaller numbers. A substantial share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a higher-poverty context relative to some other Portland elementary schools. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the records reviewed, so a family looking into special education or English language support would want to ask the school directly.
Only one year of state testing results was available for Rose City Park, so there is no trend to observe. In that single year, the school’s overall proficiency across subjects and grades placed it in the top quarter when compared with districts in Multnomah County—a strong showing. In English language arts, just over half of students met proficiency across grades three, four, and five, with little variation by grade. In math, the picture was mixed: proficiency in grade three was higher than the school’s overall average, remained above the midpoint in grade four, and dropped noticeably in grade five. Science, tested only in fifth grade, had a lower proficiency rate than either math or ELA at that grade. The decline in math by fifth grade and the relatively lower science results are areas a parent may want to discuss with the school to understand what supports are in place.
Like the rest of Portland, the housing market around the school is expensive. Home values in the area are well above state and national benchmarks, and rents are high. The estimated monthly cost to own is higher than the rent, which means buying a home in the neighborhood requires significant income. The city has seen rising housing costs and gentrification pressure over the past few decades, even as Portland’s overall population has dipped slightly since 2020.
Portland Public Schools is in a period of change. The district placed a large capital construction bond on the November 2024 ballot, which would fund facility upgrades, seismic retrofits, and safety improvements across the system. At the same time, the district has experienced a notable enrollment decline and is working through a school consolidation process that could affect school assignment patterns. These developments may influence which schools remain open and how attendance boundaries shift in the coming years.
Rose City Park fits families who want a neighborhood elementary school in a dense, walkable part of Portland with a strong record on state tests relative to the county. The peer environment is economically mixed, with a high proportion of students from lower-income households alongside families who have invested in the area’s costly housing. The absence of detailed program offerings, student support data, and multi-year test trends means a prospective parent should visit and ask about how the school addresses the variation in math and science performance by grade, and how it supports students across different backgrounds.
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