Markham Elementary School vs Peninsula Elementary School

Markham Elementary School and Peninsula Elementary School sit just 9.2 miles apart in Portland, Oregon, yet both rank among the state's very best elementary schools. Markham Elementary School holds the edge at #23 of 1,226 Oregon schools while Peninsula Elementary School ranks #29 of 1,226 — a six-spot gap that reflects near-identical overall ratings of 9.3/10 versus 9.2/10. At that altitude, either school represents an exceptional outcome for Portland families.

The most meaningful separation between these two schools emerges in academics versus growth. Markham Elementary School scores a 9.4/10 in academic proficiency while Peninsula Elementary School posts an 8.2/10 — a 1.2-point gap that signals meaningfully stronger tested outcomes at Markham on current standards. Peninsula Elementary School flips the advantage on student growth, earning a 9.9/10 growth score against Markham Elementary School's 9.4/10. That 0.5-point edge means Peninsula is moving students forward at a faster rate, which can matter more than snapshot proficiency scores for families enrolling children who need to close gaps or accelerate from a lower starting point.

Both schools share an identical free and reduced-price lunch rate of 64%, confirming comparable socioeconomic contexts and ruling out demographic privilege as an explanation for Markham's academic lead. Markham Elementary School enrolls 402 students versus Peninsula Elementary School's 234, making Markham nearly 70% larger. Despite that size difference, classroom density stays close: Markham's student-teacher ratio is 16.1:1 while Peninsula's is 15.6:1, so neither school offers a dramatically smaller classroom experience. Both serve grades KG through 05, covering the same span of a child's elementary years.

Both schools operate across the same grade band — kindergarten through fifth grade — so program structure and transition timing are equivalent. The practical differentiator for most families will be commute and the academic-versus-growth tradeoff. Markham's stronger proficiency numbers indicate students are performing at higher levels today; Peninsula's superior growth score signals it excels at accelerating progress over time, regardless of where students start.