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Gilbert Heights Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
573rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 706 Oregon Elementary Schools
Better than 19% of Oregon elementary schools
Summary

Gilbert Heights Elementary School is a public elementary school in Portland, Oregon, serving 413 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the David Douglas School District, which is ranked 109 out of 140 school districts in the state.

Gilbert Heights Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Oregon elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates (ranging from 34.3% to 40.1%), low academic performance in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science (with proficiency rates around 20-30%, compared to district and state averages of 28.5-46.7%), and a very high percentage (around 80%) of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Despite the school's relatively high spending per student (around $22,974 to $23,861), its academic performance remains significantly below the district and state averages.

Interestingly, the nearby schools in the David Douglas School District, such as Cherry Park Elementary, Ventura Park Elementary, and Gilbert Park Elementary, generally perform better than Gilbert Heights Elementary on academic measures, despite also having high rates of chronic absenteeism and high percentages of economically disadvantaged students. The only outlier in the area is Arthur Academy, a public charter school within the district that consistently outperforms the district and state averages on academic measures.

405
Students ?
18.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$22,974
Per pupil spending ?
107.2%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 12839 SE Holgate Blvd
       Portland, OR  97236-3909

(503) 256-6502

District: David Douglas School District 40


Students who attend Gilbert Heights Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Alice Ott Middle School
High:    David Douglas High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
30.9%
White:
22.5%
Asian:
19.3%
more
 See top rated Oregon elementary schools

 Compare Gilbert Heights Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 22nd percentile in 2014 → 19th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Oregon average (24% vs 38% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school24%
District avg27%
Oregon avg38%
573rd of 706
Oregon public elementary schools ?
Bottom 19%▲ up 8 pts since 2015
From bottom 11% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Oregon Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
6th of 10Elementary Schools in the David Douglas School District 40
109th of 140David Douglas School District 40 among Oregon districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202521.4573 of 70618.8%★☆☆☆☆
202427.6518 of 71027.0%★☆☆☆☆
202320.5586 of 70617.0%★☆☆☆☆
202214.3642 of 7069.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201940.6407 of 70542.3%★★☆☆☆
201830.4512 of 70927.8%★☆☆☆☆
201726.2546 of 70122.1%★☆☆☆☆
201622.3585 of 69716.1%★☆☆☆☆
201517.4627 of 70611.2%★☆☆☆☆
201428.4541 of 69522.2%★☆☆☆☆
201349.5370 of 70747.7%★★☆☆☆
201253.0352 of 73051.8%★★★☆☆
201148.8381 of 69545.2%★★☆☆☆
201031.2526 of 67422.0%★☆☆☆☆
200926.6548 of 66517.6%★☆☆☆☆
200851.6346 of 65547.2%★★☆☆☆
200746.4364 of 65244.2%★★☆☆☆
200661.5257 of 63659.6%★★★☆☆
200541.4423 of 62932.8%★★☆☆☆
200451.0316 of 58646.1%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202226.114 of 156.7%★☆☆☆☆
201954.45 of 2277.3%★★★★☆
201838.821 of 3946.2%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202527.027 of 3828.9%★★☆☆☆
202425.434 of 4117.1%★☆☆☆☆
202312.635 of 3910.3%★☆☆☆☆
20228.537 of 395.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201948.726 of 4845.8%★★☆☆☆
201856.749 of 8643.0%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202558.626 of 10174.3%★★★★☆
202461.614 of 9785.6%★★★★☆
202355.126 of 8770.1%★★★★☆
202239.044 of 8045.0%★★☆☆☆
201960.223 of 9776.3%★★★★☆
201847.761 of 17965.9%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202526.4500 of 65323.4%★☆☆☆☆
202436.6403 of 65838.8%★★☆☆☆
202334.2419 of 65235.7%★★☆☆☆
202223.8512 of 64620.7%★☆☆☆☆
201932.5446 of 62128.2%★☆☆☆☆
201826.7535 of 68121.4%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202530.4266 of 36226.5%★☆☆☆☆
202443.6191 of 36547.7%★★☆☆☆
202339.2216 of 36040.0%★★☆☆☆
202234.5225 of 33933.6%★★☆☆☆
201950.4170 of 36453.3%★★★☆☆
201834.5320 of 47532.6%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202533.8360 of 51830.5%★★☆☆☆
202441.8299 of 52342.8%★★☆☆☆
202330.0439 of 59526.2%★☆☆☆☆
202214.3639 of 7039.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201948.7289 of 59751.6%★★★☆☆
201837.7433 of 64032.3%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202519.8570 of 66414.2%★☆☆☆☆
202419.4574 of 66213.3%★☆☆☆☆
202310.9633 of 6654.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202210.9624 of 6544.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201950.3285 of 62354.3%★★★☆☆
201835.6452 of 68033.5%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
201822.5188 of 21211.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202534.3212 of 35239.8%★★☆☆☆
201828.0391 of 48118.7%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOregon percentileRating
202525.1536 of 66919.9%★☆☆☆☆
202427.6500 of 67025.4%★☆☆☆☆
202333.0443 of 65632.5%★★☆☆☆
202216.9595 of 66610.7%★☆☆☆☆
201940.2409 of 66238.2%★★☆☆☆
201830.0521 of 68323.7%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
English Language Learner (2025)74th percentile+55 vs school
Special Education (2025)40th percentile+21 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)31st percentile+12 vs school
Asian (2025)29th percentile+10 vs school
Hispanic (2025)27th percentile+8 vs school
Female (2025)23rd percentile+5 vs school
White (2025)20th percentile~ school
Male (2025)14th percentile-5 vs school
Multi-racial (2018)11th percentile-16 vs school
African American (2022)7th percentile~ school
By subject vs Oregon (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts28%-15 vs state
Mathematics22%-14 vs state
Science20%-10 vs state

3.0
2 ratings · 2 written reviews
51
40
30
20
11
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What people are saying
by a parent
Friday, September 16, 2016

Open Quote I have 5 kids and they have all gone through this school. The teachers and the staff are all great! Close Quote


by a student
Thursday, April 23, 2015

Open Quote I was a special needs student who fell through the cracks. I was treated poorly by several staff and students and my struggles were rarely acknowledged by staff to my mother. They never tried to evaluate me for any learning disabilities and declared me to have 'school phobia' when I started not coming ( I was having really bad anxiety/etc toward the middle of fifth grade ). I'm an adult now and I'm honestly amazed now that I look back that none of the staff were fired or suspended. ( I'm 19 this year. I went to Gilbert Heights from first grade to fifth grade. ) Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Gilbert Heights Elementary School

Students at Gilbert Heights Elementary School are 31% Hispanic, 22% White, 19% Asian, 14% African American, 11% Two or more races, 2% Pacific Islander.

Gilbert Heights Elementary School ranks in the bottom 18.8% of Oregon elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 405 students attended Gilbert Heights Elementary School.

Students who attend Gilbert Heights Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Alice Ott Middle School
High : David Douglas High School


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Oregon Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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