Beverly Cleary School vs Lent Elementary School

Beverly Cleary School and Lent Elementary School sit 4.8 miles apart in Portland, Oregon, but they occupy very different positions in the state rankings. Lent Elementary School ranks #28 of 1,226 Oregon schools while Beverly Cleary School ranks #57 of 1,226 — both elite placements, but Lent edges ahead by 29 spots. That translates to an overall rating gap of 0.3 points, with Lent at 9.3/10 and Beverly Cleary at 9.0/10. Neither school is a weak choice by any objective measure; this comparison is a race near the top.

The academic profiles diverge sharply. Beverly Cleary School holds a 9.8/10 academic score versus Lent Elementary School's 8.1/10 — a 1.7-point gap that reflects meaningfully higher tested proficiency at Beverly Cleary. Lent flips the script on growth: its 9.9/10 growth score outpaces Beverly Cleary's 8.9/10 by a full point. That split matters for interpretation. Beverly Cleary arrives with stronger incoming proficiency; Lent accelerates students faster year over year, suggesting its teachers are closing gaps rather than maintaining advantages.

The demographic and structural differences between the two schools are the starkest of all. Beverly Cleary School enrolls 558 students at a 20.7:1 student-teacher ratio, with 12% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Lent Elementary School enrolls 273 students at a 13.7:1 ratio, with 73% on free or reduced-price lunch. Lent's class sizes run meaningfully smaller — every teacher works with roughly seven fewer students — and it serves a far higher proportion of lower-income families. The 61-percentage-point FRL gap means these schools are drawing from very different socioeconomic pools, which context any comparison of raw academic scores.

On structure, Beverly Cleary School serves grades KG through 08, so students can remain through middle school without a transition. Lent Elementary School serves KG through 05, requiring families to plan for a middle school move after fifth grade. Beverly Cleary's extended grade span reduces the number of school transitions a child faces; Lent's concentration on elementary years may allow a tighter programmatic focus on younger learners.