Markham Elementary School vs Woodlawn Elementary School

Woodlawn Elementary School ranks #16 of 1,226 schools in Oregon, placing it seven spots above Markham Elementary School at #23 — both are in the top 2% statewide, but Woodlawn's edge is meaningful in a state with over twelve hundred schools. Their overall ratings sit within 0.1 points of each other (Woodlawn at 9.4/10, Markham at 9.3/10), making this one of the closer comparisons in Portland, yet the underlying subscores tell a more differentiated story.

On academics, Markham Elementary School leads with a 9.4/10 academic score versus Woodlawn Elementary School's 9.1/10 — a 0.3-point gap that reflects stronger current proficiency levels. Woodlawn flips the advantage on growth, scoring 9.8/10 compared to Markham's 9.4/10, meaning students at Woodlawn are advancing at a faster rate relative to expectations. Families prioritizing where kids are today will favor Markham; families focused on trajectory and year-over-year gains will favor Woodlawn.

Both schools serve nearly identical student populations by economic need — Markham Elementary School and Woodlawn Elementary School each report 64% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, so neither school carries a socioeconomic advantage. Markham is the larger campus at 402 students versus Woodlawn's 299, a difference of 103 students that translates to a somewhat more intimate daily environment at Woodlawn. Student-teacher ratios are close: Markham at 16.1:1 and Woodlawn at 16.6:1, meaning Markham classes average slightly fewer students per teacher.

The most concrete structural difference between these two schools is grade span. Woodlawn Elementary School offers pre-kindergarten through 5th grade, giving families an earlier entry point — typically age 3 or 4 — compared to Markham Elementary School, which begins at kindergarten. For parents with younger children hoping to establish continuity at a single school before first grade, that PK program is a functional distinction. Both schools sit 9.4 miles apart within Portland, so geography will also be a real factor for most families weighing the two.