Commonwealth Avenue Elementary vs Multnomah Street Elementary

Multnomah Street Elementary ranks #20 of 9,533 schools in California, placing it in the top 0.2% statewide. Commonwealth Avenue Elementary is no slouch at #110 of 9,533 — top 1.2% — but that 90-position gap represents a meaningful difference in overall standing. On the 10-point rating scale, Multnomah Street Elementary scores 9.5 versus Commonwealth Avenue Elementary's 9.2, a 0.3-point gap that, at this tier of performance, reflects real distinctions in measurable outcomes rather than noise.

Academically, Multnomah Street Elementary holds a 0.8-point edge, scoring 9.3 against Commonwealth Avenue Elementary's 8.5. That delta is the sharpest difference between the two schools and the primary driver of Multnomah's higher state rank. On growth — how much students improve year over year relative to peers — the two schools are nearly identical: Multnomah Street Elementary earns a 9.8 and Commonwealth Avenue Elementary a 9.5. Both schools are exceptional at accelerating student progress; the gap narrows to just 0.3 points on this dimension, meaning Commonwealth Avenue Elementary is closing ground effectively even if its absolute proficiency levels trail.

Commonwealth Avenue Elementary serves 506 students across kindergarten through fifth grade, while Multnomah Street Elementary enrolls 336 — about one-third fewer kids. Despite the smaller enrollment, Multnomah Street Elementary runs a higher student-teacher ratio at 19.8:1 compared to Commonwealth Avenue Elementary's 17.4:1, so Commonwealth Avenue parents get modestly more teacher attention per child. On economic diversity, 87% of Commonwealth Avenue Elementary students qualify for free or reduced lunch versus 71% at Multnomah Street Elementary, a 16-percentage-point difference that reflects the distinct neighborhoods these schools draw from across their 5.3-mile separation.

Both schools serve kindergarten through fifth grade, so grade-level coverage is identical and neither offers a programming advantage on that dimension. The meaningful program and outcome distinctions come from Multnomah Street Elementary's stronger academic proficiency ceiling and its top-20 statewide standing, set against Commonwealth Avenue Elementary's tighter class sizes and a growth trajectory that nearly matches a school ranked 90 spots above it.