Best Schools in Milwaukie, Oregon

Milwaukie is a mid-sized suburb south of Portland with 17 ranked public schools and a city-wide average score of 6.0 out of 10. Five schools — 29% of the ranked total — score 7.0 or higher, forming a clear upper tier that rises well above the city mean. Performance is uneven across the board, which makes attendance zone and open enrollment research especially important for families deciding where to live or where to apply.

Elementary schools dominate the top of the range. Ardenwald Elementary leads at 8.4 and View Acres Elementary follows at 8.1, both clearing the 8-point mark. Riverside Elementary and Oak Grove Elementary each score 7.8, and Milwaukie El Puente Elementary rounds out the top five at 7.1. Every school in that group is an elementary campus, giving families with younger children the strongest selection. The city's 6.0 average reflects a wider field that includes lower-scoring schools, so parents of middle and high schoolers have a narrower set of high-performing options to weigh.

The 2.4-point gap between Ardenwald's 8.4 and the 6.0 city average is the most useful signal for families comparing neighborhoods. That spread means school quality varies meaningfully by zone — more so than in cities where scores cluster tightly around the mean. Families zoned to a lower-scoring campus should check district open enrollment timelines and transfer options before committing to a neighborhood.

Milwaukie's school landscape gives elementary-age families a solid foundation to work with. Ardenwald and View Acres both sit above 8.0, and 29% of ranked schools clear 7.0. For families with middle or high schoolers, the strong performers are harder to find, and widening the search to include neighboring districts is worth the effort. In either case, confirm current attendance boundaries directly with the school district — zone lines shift, and performance data alone does not guarantee seat availability.