Irvington Elementary School vs Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School

Irvington Elementary School holds an overall rating of 9.4/10 against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School's 9.1/10, a 0.3-point gap that understates a more meaningful difference in state standing: Irvington ranks #15 of 1,226 Oregon schools while Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School ranks #34 of 1,226. Both land in the top 3 percent of the state, making this a comparison between two genuinely high-performing neighborhood schools separated by just 1.3 miles.

The sharpest divergence sits in the academic scores: Irvington Elementary School earns a 9.3/10 while Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School scores 7.4/10, a 1.9-point gap that reflects differences in proficiency rates on state assessments. Growth tells the opposite story. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School's growth score of 9.9/10 edges Irvington's 9.6/10, meaning students at MLK are advancing at a slightly faster pace relative to their peers statewide — a signal that the school consistently moves kids forward regardless of where they start.

The two schools differ considerably in demographic makeup. Irvington Elementary School enrolls 235 students with 26 percent qualifying for free or reduced lunch, while Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School serves 305 students with 73 percent qualifying — nearly three times the economic need. Irvington's student-teacher ratio of 15.7:1 is modestly higher than MLK's 13.9:1, meaning MLK students get slightly more individual attention per teacher on average.

One structural difference shapes early-childhood options: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School serves grades PK–05, offering a pre-kindergarten program, while Irvington Elementary School's range starts at kindergarten (KG–05). Families with a four-year-old seeking a public pre-K option within Portland will only find it at MLK between these two schools. Both serve through fifth grade, so the upper-elementary experience is structurally equivalent in scope.