As a real estate professional, relocating buyers often ask me to recommend Portland’s “best schools.” However, there is no such thing as a “best school.” Each school, like each student, is individual and has unique programs and specialties to offer. Having said that, there are a few publications and web sites that can help parents make the important decision as to which school is the best choice for their child’s needs. On my web site, I have included links to as many of the schools that have web sites as possible for your convenience.
Oregon Department of Education
Visit the Oregon Department of Education web site for information and reports about Oregon schools. Most of the reports are in PDF format and require you to have Acrobat Reader© installed on your computer to view them properly. You can download the reader, free of charge, at the Adobe web site.
Oregon School Report Cards
Each January, the Oregon Department of Education produces performance report cards for each school and district. The Oregon state legislature sets the rules and measurement criteria and then publishes the annual results in a report card format. Educational performance and improvement are the focus of the Oregon School Report Card rating system. Schools are rated on several measures including student performance, student behavior, and school characteristics. These measures are combined to yield an Overall School Performance Rating of exceptional, strong, satisfactory, low, or unacceptable. A full explanation of this performance system is available at the Oregon Department of Education web site as well as the report cards for each school.
Molly Huffman’s School Choices Book
Make sure you check out Molly Huffman’s book, School Choices in Greater Portland. This book covers all of the major public school districts in Metro Portland and the surrounding cities plus information about private schools and preschools.