Atkinson Elementary School vs Portland Arthur Academy Charter School

Atkinson Elementary School and Portland Arthur Academy Charter School sit just 1.2 miles apart in Portland and land nearly level overall — Atkinson edges out a 9.2/10 to Portland Arthur Academy's 9.1/10. The gap is marginal, but the state rank context adds texture: Atkinson ranks #27 of 1,226 Oregon schools while Portland Arthur Academy ranks #39 of 1,226, placing both in the top 3.5 percent statewide. Parents choosing between them are not trading up or down in any meaningful overall sense — they are choosing between two high performers with meaningfully different academic profiles.

The academic and growth scores reveal an inverse trade-off. Portland Arthur Academy Charter School leads on academic score, 9.3/10 versus Atkinson's 9.1/10 — a 0.2-point edge in raw proficiency. Atkinson flips the table on growth: its 9.5/10 growth score outpaces Portland Arthur Academy's 9.0/10 by half a point. That gap matters because growth scores measure how much students improve relative to academic peers, not just where they start. A family prioritizing demonstrated year-over-year progress will find stronger evidence of that at Atkinson; a family prioritizing absolute proficiency benchmarks will find slightly higher performance at Portland Arthur Academy.

Atkinson Elementary School enrolls 366 students while Portland Arthur Academy Charter School serves 164 — more than twice the student body. Both schools run nearly identical student-teacher ratios (16.6:1 versus 16.4:1), so class sizes are comparable despite the enrollment difference. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility sits at 34 percent at Atkinson and 30 percent at Portland Arthur Academy, a minor 4-point spread indicating both schools serve moderate proportions of lower-income families, with Atkinson's higher enrollment likely accounting for most of the absolute difference.

Both schools serve grades KG–05. The structural distinction is school type: Atkinson is a traditional Portland Public Schools attendance-zone school, while Portland Arthur Academy operates as a charter with open enrollment, meaning families outside a specific attendance boundary can apply. Charter enrollment typically involves a separate application process and may include a lottery if seats are oversubscribed, a logistical factor that can affect accessibility regardless of academic fit.