Abernethy Elementary School vs Creston Elementary School

Creston Elementary School holds a 0.4-point overall rating advantage over Abernethy Elementary School — 9.6 vs. 9.2 out of 10 — but the more striking difference is where each school sits in the full Oregon picture. Creston ranks #4 of 1,226 Oregon elementary schools, placing it in the top fraction of a percent statewide. Abernethy ranks #26 of the same 1,226, which is itself exceptional, yet represents a meaningful 22-position gap between two schools located just 1.9 miles apart in Portland.

Academically, the two schools are nearly identical at the top of the scale: Abernethy's academic score is 9.9/10 versus Creston's 9.8/10, a difference too small to drive a decision. The growth score — measuring how much students improve year over year regardless of starting point — similarly separates them by just one-tenth, with Creston at 9.7/10 to Abernethy's 9.6/10. Where Creston's composite lead actually comes from is likely its equity and environment components, given the broader context of its student population, rather than raw test performance where Abernethy holds a marginal edge.

The demographic difference between the two schools is substantial. Abernethy Elementary School enrolls 330 students with 15% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, signaling a predominantly higher-income student body. Creston Elementary School serves 238 students — 92 fewer — with 78% on free or reduced lunch, meaning it achieves its #4 statewide rank while serving a population that is economically far more diverse and typically harder to move the needle on measured outcomes. That gap in student-teacher ratio reinforces the resource difference: Creston's 15.9:1 ratio gives each teacher roughly three and a half fewer students to manage than Abernethy's 19.4:1.

Both schools serve kindergarten through fifth grade across their full K–5 spans. The practical distinction for parents isn't program breadth — it's classroom intimacy and community composition. Creston's smaller enrollment and lower ratio translate to fewer students per adult throughout the building, while Abernethy's larger, more affluent cohort may bring different family-engagement resources and peer demographics to daily school life.