Arleta Elementary School vs Creston Elementary School

Creston Elementary School ranks #4 out of 1,226 schools in Oregon, placing it in the top 0.3% statewide. Arleta Elementary School is no slouch — it holds the #61 spot in the same field — but that 57-position gap translates to a meaningful real-world difference for Portland families weighing two schools just 1.1 miles apart. Creston's overall rating of 9.6/10 sits 0.7 points above Arleta's 8.9/10, a gap driven primarily by academic performance rather than any single structural factor.

On academics, Creston Elementary School scores 9.8/10 versus Arleta Elementary School's 8.6/10 — a 1.2-point difference on the same scale. Growth tells a tighter story: Creston edges Arleta 9.7 to 9.2, meaning students at Creston are gaining ground slightly faster year over year, but both schools are genuinely strong on this dimension. Families prioritizing test proficiency levels will find the academic gap more pronounced than those focused on learning velocity alone.

Arleta Elementary School enrolls 274 students compared to Creston Elementary School's 238, making Arleta the slightly larger campus. Creston carries a better student-teacher ratio — 15.9 students per teacher versus Arleta's 17.1 — which means smaller instructional groups on average. The free and reduced-price lunch rate is notably higher at Creston (78%) than at Arleta (65%), a 13-point difference indicating that Creston serves a higher proportion of lower-income families while simultaneously achieving near-top statewide rankings. That combination is uncommon and suggests strong instructional practice relative to demographics.

Both schools cover the same grade span, kindergarten through fifth grade, so neither offers an extended pathway advantage. The 1.1-mile proximity means the decision hinges on performance and fit rather than geography. Creston's #4 state rank with a higher-need student body is the defining data point separating these two otherwise similarly structured Portland elementary schools.