The Best School District In Oregon, According To New Study

PORTLAND, OR — A new report has ranked the best school district in Oregon and the answer may surprise you.

The website 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware corporation that publishes financial news and commentary, sifted through various school data to determine the best school district in every state.

In Oregon, Riverdale School District in Southeast Portland's Riverdale/Dunthorpe area topped the list.

Residing just north of Lake Oswego, mostly in Multnomah County but touching a portion of Clackamas County, the district boasts serving more than 600 families and spends $14,692 per student, the analysis found. The high school graduation rate is 100 percent and roughly 80 percent of adults have a bachelor’s degree.

The company evaluated the districts by creating an index based on data in the following categories:

• child poverty
• spending per student
• graduation rate
• teachers per student
• percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree
• preschool enrollment
• Advanced Placement enrollment

Several school districts in the U.S. spend more than $50,000 per student on education each year, 24/7 Wall St. said, but some others spend less than $2,000 per student.

“That difference in spending contributes to major disparities in student outcomes throughout the country,” the authors wrote. “The majority of a school’s budget is spent on staff and teacher salaries. A school that is able to attract the best teachers can give their students a major advantage.”

Indeed, wealthier areas often reap those rewards.

Local sources, including property taxes, account for about 44 percent of all school funding in the U.S. This means most of the best school districts are located in affluent counties where the majority of households earn more than double that of a typical American household.

In Multnomah County, which covers most the district, the median household income from 2012-2016 was $57,449 — slightly higher than the national average of $55,322. Conversely, the poverty rate in Multnomah County was 14.2 percent compared to the national average of 12.7 percent.

Just south of the actual city border, in neighboring Lake Oswego, the median household income from 2012-2016 was $89,979 — a considerable increase. The poverty rate for Lake Oswego was also drastically different, coming in at just more than 7 percent.

The nationwide rankings report, published on Monday, follows a January report from the same site that found Oregon's school system ranked 34th in the country.

Here’s a breakdown of schools in Oregon, according to 24/7 Wall St.:

• High school graduation rate: 74.8 percent (3rd lowest)
• Public school spending: $11,515 per pupil (22nd lowest)
• 8th grade NAEP proficiency: 33.7 percent (math) 35.7 percent (reading)
• Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 32.7 percent (16th highest)
• Adults 25-64 with incomes at or above national median: 48.9 percent (20th lowest)

Oregon's public school system is among the worst in the country, according to the report's authors, who noted low, perhaps inadequate educational funding and "subpar student achievement" as possible causes for that result.

Spending about $1,000 per student less than the national average, Oregon's lack of investment in student success could be a factor in its low ranking, the authors wrote; though a lack of spending isn't likely the only reason fewer than three out of every four Oregon high school students graduate with a diploma.

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Image via Shutterstock/Brian A Jackson