Astor Elementary School vs Stephenson Elementary School

Astor Elementary School and Stephenson Elementary School are both high-performing Portland elementary schools, but the overall rating gap between them is narrow: Astor holds a 9.2/10 against Stephenson's 9.0/10, a difference of 0.2 points. In Oregon's state rankings, Astor sits at #34 of 1,226 schools while Stephenson lands at #60 — both firmly in the top 5 percent statewide, separated by 9.6 miles across the city.

The academic and growth scores tell an important cross-story. Stephenson Elementary School scores a near-perfect 9.9/10 in academics, a full point above Astor Elementary School's 8.9/10 — a meaningful gap in tested proficiency. Astor counters with a higher growth score of 9.6/10 versus Stephenson's 8.9/10, meaning students at Astor are making faster year-over-year learning gains relative to similar peers. Parents weighing a higher achievement floor against stronger trajectory gains will find a genuine trade-off here rather than a clear winner.

The demographic and resource differences are stark. Astor Elementary School serves 375 students with a student-teacher ratio of 15.6:1 and a free and reduced-price lunch rate of 64 percent. Stephenson Elementary School enrolls 310 students, but its ratio climbs to 20.7:1 — five additional students per teacher — while its FRL rate is just 12 percent. Astor's smaller class sizes and higher-need population likely interact directly with its strong growth score, suggesting teachers are delivering outsized gains in a more resource-intensive environment.

Grade configuration is the most concrete structural difference. Astor Elementary School serves kindergarten through 8th grade, keeping students in a single building through middle school. Stephenson Elementary School ends at 5th grade, requiring a separate middle school transition after elementary. Families who prefer continuity and want to avoid a school transition at age 11 will find Astor's K–8 model meaningfully different from Stephenson's K–5 structure.