Irvington Elementary School vs Markham Elementary School

Irvington Elementary School and Markham Elementary School rank among Oregon's top 25 schools, separated by just 8 spots — Irvington at #15 of 1,226 and Markham at #23 of 1,226 statewide. Their overall ratings sit just 0.1 points apart, Irvington at 9.4/10 and Markham at 9.3/10, making this one of the tightest head-to-head comparisons in the Portland metro. Parents can feel confident that either school delivers exceptional outcomes by any statewide measure.

The academic scores flip the headline: Markham Elementary School edges Irvington Elementary School 9.4 to 9.3 on academic proficiency, while Irvington flips the result on growth, scoring 9.6/10 versus Markham's 9.4/10. That 0.2-point growth advantage at Irvington signals students are gaining ground faster relative to their own starting points — a meaningful signal for families with kids who need accelerated progress or who are entering below grade level. Both numbers are exceptional in context, but growth is where Irvington pulls ahead.

The demographic profiles diverge significantly. Irvington Elementary School enrolls 235 students against Markham Elementary School's 402 — a 71% larger student body. Irvington's free and reduced-price lunch rate is 26% versus Markham's 64%, a 38-percentage-point gap reflecting materially different community income levels. Student-teacher ratios are close but not identical: 15.7:1 at Irvington versus 16.1:1 at Markham, giving Irvington a slight edge in average class size. Markham's higher FRL rate, paired with its near-equal academic and growth scores, reflects strong instructional performance across a broader economic spectrum.

Both schools serve grades KG through 05 and sit 7.2 miles apart within Portland, so grade-level programming is structurally identical. The practical differentiation comes down to school size and community composition — Irvington's smaller enrollment creates a tighter-knit environment, while Markham operates at nearly double the scale. Families evaluating equity of access and school-level performance under resource constraints will find Markham's numbers particularly striking given its demographic context.