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The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science

Q: Is The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science a good school?

The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science ranks 170 th of 709 Oregon elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public, Charter Grades K-8

170^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 709 Oregon Elementary Schools

Better than 76% of Oregon elementary schools

Summary

The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science is a small K–8 school of 198 students at 2510 SW 1st Ave in Portland, Oregon, reported under the Oregon Department of Education rather than a local district, and it scores well above Oregon averages in all three tested subjects — 65.4% in English language arts, 40.7% in math, and 45.2% in science for 2025–26 — while holding a 4-star rating in seven of the last eight reported years. Its long-term trend is upward, moving from the 60th–62nd percentile a decade ago into the mid-70s and high-80s since 2021, though 2025–26 slipped from the 89th back to the 76th percentile.

Against its immediate neighbors, the picture is more mixed. Cottonwood's ELA is above the Portland School District 1J average, but its math proficiency falls below that district's 50.5% and ranks 8th of 11 nearby schools, ahead of only Buckman Elementary School and Grout Elementary School. Compared with Portland Village School — 0.24 miles away, also K–8 — Cottonwood is 16.5 points ahead in ELA and 7.1 ahead in science. It trails the nearby Winterhaven School, which ranks 1st statewide. The most striking gap is attendance: 36% of Cottonwood students are chronically absent, above the state's 33.5% and roughly 2.4 times Winterhaven School's 12.1%, while six nearby schools keep absenteeism under 21%.

Subgroup results are a genuine strength — special education students rank 10th of 299 statewide with 5 stars, and male students rank in the 92nd percentile. Grade-level results are uneven: 3rd grade tests below the state, grades 5–7 ELA is strong, and 8th-grade science is very weak at 9.1%. Because cohorts are tiny and several indicators are unreported, treat single-year and single-grade figures as directional rather than definitive.

198

Students ?

16.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

10.1%

Directly certified for free meals (2021-22) ?

2510 SW 1st Ave
Portland, OR 97201-4742

(503) 244-1697

District: Oregon Department of Education

Racial breakdown:

White:

51.5%

Two or more races:

16.7%

Hispanic:

16.2%

See top rated Oregon elementary schools

Compare The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 62nd percentile in 2015 → 76th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Oregon average (52% vs 37% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 24% of Oregon elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 14 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school52%

District avg47%

Oregon avg37%

Elementary school

170^th of 709

Oregon public elementary schools ?

Top 24%▲ up 3 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Oregon Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

77^th of 371

Oregon public middle schools ?

Top 21%▲ up 18 pts since 2016

From top 39% (2016) to top 21% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Oregon Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 3Elementary Schools in the Oregon Department of Education

13^th of 141Oregon Department of Education 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2026	71.5	170 of 709	76.0%	★★★★☆
2025	86.0	81 of 706	88.5%	★★★★☆
2024	77.0	134 of 710	81.1%	★★★★☆
2023	69.2	178 of 706	74.8%	★★★★☆
2022	78.9	121 of 706	82.9%	★★★★☆
2019	56.4	279 of 705	60.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	74.1	147 of 709	79.3%	★★★★☆
2017	74.5	156 of 701	77.7%	★★★★☆
2016	69.6	188 of 697	73.0%	★★★★☆
2015	56.4	271 of 706	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2014	69.2	200 of 695	71.2%	★★★★☆
2013	47.9	383 of 707	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	61.7	258 of 730	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2011	49.4	371 of 695	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2010	52.3	358 of 674	46.9%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2024	79.2	108 of 658	83.6%	★★★★☆
2019	64.8	194 of 621	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	72.7	145 of 681	78.7%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2022	79.3	119 of 703	83.1%	★★★★☆
2018	68.0	147 of 640	77.0%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2025	89.4	55 of 664	91.7%	★★★★★
2024	63.7	190 of 662	71.3%	★★★★☆
2023	64.0	202 of 665	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	72.7	144 of 654	78.0%	★★★★☆
2019	61.3	212 of 623	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	72.8	150 of 680	77.9%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2024	94.4	10 of 299	96.7%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2026	72.0	154 of 670	77.0%	★★★★☆
2025	88.8	55 of 669	91.8%	★★★★★
2024	70.1	173 of 670	74.2%	★★★★☆
2023	67.9	184 of 656	72.0%	★★★★☆
2022	76.1	127 of 666	80.9%	★★★★☆
2019	52.1	307 of 662	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	73.2	153 of 683	77.6%	★★★★☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2026	71.4	77 of 371	79.2%	★★★★☆
2025	78.4	55 of 368	85.1%	★★★★☆
2024	81.6	53 of 371	85.7%	★★★★☆
2023	72.1	68 of 380	82.1%	★★★★☆
2022	81.7	47 of 367	87.2%	★★★★☆
2019	67.2	100 of 379	73.6%	★★★★☆
2018	64.0	119 of 384	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2017	83.9	40 of 382	89.5%	★★★★☆
2016	56.7	150 of 383	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2015	80.8	46 of 381	87.9%	★★★★☆
2014	84.2	39 of 382	89.8%	★★★★★
2013	70.3	97 of 377	74.3%	★★★★☆
2012	55.7	180 of 395	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2011	54.2	167 of 357	53.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2023	74.0	60 of 323	81.4%	★★★★☆
2019	67.7	78 of 277	71.8%	★★★★☆
2018	50.6	166 of 342	51.5%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2022	82.1	46 of 364	87.4%	★★★★☆
2018	52.5	137 of 325	57.8%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2026	44.5	160 of 327	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	75.9	58 of 330	82.4%	★★★★☆
2024	80.6	46 of 323	85.8%	★★★★☆
2023	76.0	52 of 318	83.6%	★★★★☆
2022	83.9	34 of 312	89.1%	★★★★☆
2018	72.4	73 of 341	78.6%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Oregon percentile	Rating
2026	58.7	120 of 354	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	80.7	46 of 351	86.9%	★★★★☆
2024	69.6	83 of 349	76.2%	★★★★☆
2023	75.9	58 of 360	83.9%	★★★★☆
2022	90.2	18 of 355	94.9%	★★★★★
2019	70.1	87 of 344	74.7%	★★★★☆
2018	60.7	126 of 357	64.7%	★★★☆☆

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)

Elementary school

Special Education (2024)97th percentile+16 vs school

Male (2025)92nd percentile+3 vs school

Female (2024)84th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)83rd percentile~ school

White (2026)77th percentile~ school

Middle school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)87th percentile~ school

Female (2023)81st percentile~ school

White (2026)66th percentile-13 vs school

Male (2026)51st percentile-28 vs school

By subject vs Oregon (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts65%+22 vs state

Science45%+15 vs state

Mathematics41%+8 vs state

5.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, February 12, 2022

There are a lot of options offered by Portland Public Schools including language immersion, neighborhood public, and charter schools. We did research on all of them and are so grateful we were able to choose Cottonwood. We love the place based and environmentally conscious programs and our kindergartener loves the adventure playground and frequent trips to Cottonwood Bay. The teachers and administrators are wonderful. Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, January 17, 2020

This school is a treasure. Not too many people are aware of how amazing place-based education is, but it should be implemented in all schools. My children have hands-on, interactive, meaningful experiences that are so valuable to their learning. They often go out in the field to and connect with the world around them. The teachers and staff are so supportive and caring. The school leadership does a phenomenal job at doing more with less since this is a tuition-free public charter school and they get only a little more than half of the funding per student typical public schools get. The staff is a fantastic group of expert educators who work together well and work very hard towards constant improvement, growth and equity for the students and the community. Close Quote

Schools Near The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				OSAS English Language Arts (2026)							OSAS Mathematics (2026)							OSAS Science (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	OSAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	OSAS English Language Arts All Grades	OSAS Mathematics 3rd Grade	OSAS Mathematics 4th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 5th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 6th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 7th Grade	OSAS Mathematics 8th Grade	OSAS Mathematics All Grades	OSAS Science 5th Grade	OSAS Science 8th Grade	OSAS Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science	Public, Charter	K-8	2510 SW 1st Ave	Portland	97201	Multnomah County	Oregon Department of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 244-1697	198	12	16.7	—	102 (51.5%)	7 (3.5%)	32 (16.2%)	6 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	33 (16.7%)	71.5	170^th of 709 public elementary schools	76.0%		86	81^st of 706 public elementary schools	88.5%	89	33.3		70.0	80.0	75.0	54.5	65.4	33.3		40.0	33.3	62.5	27.3	40.7	65.0	9.1	45.2
Portland Village School	Public, Charter	K-8	4650 S Macadam Ave	Portland	97239	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 445-0056	408	26	15.9	21.6%	284 (69.6%)	8 (2.0%)	49 (12.0%)	11 (2.7%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (10.5%)	55.5	276^th of 709 public elementary schools	61.1%		47.4	330^th of 706 public elementary schools	53.3%	54	34.0	43.9	57.1	46.7	62.9	52.2	48.9	51.0	29.3	38.8	31.1	47.2	61.4	43.2	39.6	36.7	38.1	$12,228	$802	$11,426
Winterhaven School	Public	K-8	3830 SE 14th Ave	Portland	97202	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 916-6200	322	16	20.0	41.6%	232 (72.0%)	5 (1.6%)	24 (7.5%)	16 (5.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (13.4%)	99.4	1^st of 709 public elementary schools	99.9%		99.5	2^nd of 706 public elementary schools	99.7%	1	88.5	86.2	86.2	87.8	87.8	83.0	86.5	≥ 95%	≥ 95%	82.8	85.7	91.8	80.9	88.2	72.4	80.0	77.0	$22,506	$916	$21,590
Emerson School	Public, Charter	K-5	1800 SW 1st Ave Ste 1	Portland	97201	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 525-6124	130	7	18.3	—	84 (64.6%)	4 (3.1%)	20 (15.4%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (16.2%)	96.7	21^st of 709 public elementary schools	97.0%		85.1	86^th of 706 public elementary schools	87.8%	65	83.3	87.0	76.9				83.3	72.2	78.3	53.8				70.4	75.0		75.0	$12,228	$802	$11,426
Abernethy Elementary School	Public	K-5	2421 SE Orange Ave	Portland	97214	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 916-6190	285	15	19.2	41.8%	224 (78.6%)	4 (1.4%)	24 (8.4%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (9.1%)	97.9	11^th of 709 public elementary schools	98.4%		98.4	8^th of 706 public elementary schools	98.9%	3	81.8	78.3	86.3				82.3	75.0	75.6	67.3				72.3	71.7		71.7	$23,242	$899	$22,343
Llewellyn Elementary School	Public	K-5	6301 SE 14th Ave	Portland	97202	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 916-6216	373	22	16.9	41.8%	283 (75.9%)	5 (1.3%)	39 (10.5%)	6 (1.6%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (8.3%)	94.3	35^th of 709 public elementary schools	95.1%		97.5	13^th of 706 public elementary schools	98.2%	22	78.1	68.0	75.8				73.6	71.4	68.0	66.1				68.5	55.7		55.7	$22,368	$856	$21,513
Rieke Elementary School	Public	K-5	1405 SW Vermont	Portland	97219	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 916-5768	279	14	20.1	41.6%	200 (71.7%)	10 (3.6%)	26 (9.3%)	8 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	31 (11.1%)	98.1	7^th of 709 public elementary schools	99.0%		99.1	4^th of 706 public elementary schools	99.4%	3	79.1	75.0	87.0				80.5	79.1	76.9	74.1				76.5	75.9		75.9	$23,265	$843	$22,422
Ainsworth Elementary School	Public	K-5	2425 SW Vista Ave	Portland	97201	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 916-6288	587	31	18.6	42.1%	330 (56.2%)	12 (2.0%)	153 (26.1%)	30 (5.1%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (10.1%)	97.1	14^th of 709 public elementary schools	98.0%		97.4	14^th of 706 public elementary schools	98.0%		68.2	74.7	82.8				75.5	78.4	82.1	74.7				78.4	65.7		65.7	$22,111	$895	$21,216
Grout Elementary School	Public	K-5	3119 SE Holgate Blvd	Portland	97202	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(503) 916-6209	295	20	15.1	—	151 (51.2%)	14 (4.7%)	52 (17.6%)	28 (9.5%)	2 (0.7%)	4 (1.4%)	43 (14.6%)	52.9	306^th of 709 public elementary schools	56.8%		77	133^rd of 706 public elementary schools	81.2%	173	42.0	44.2	46.7				44.4	34.0	37.3	48.3				40.4	34.4		34.4	$25,946	$1,409	$24,537
Buckman Elementary School	Public	K-5	320 SE 16th Ave	Portland	97214	Multnomah County	Portland School District 1J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(503) 916-6230	306	21	14.5	42.2%	183 (59.8%)	11 (3.6%)	51 (16.7%)	6 (2.0%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (14.4%)	65.2	206^th of 709 public elementary schools	70.9%		69.8	170^th of 706 public elementary schools	75.9%	36	51.1	37.7	63.4				52.1	48.9	30.8	41.4				40.1	52.9		52.9	$24,044	$904	$23,140

Frequently Asked Questions about The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science

What district is The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science in?

Oregon Department of Education

Is The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science a good school?

The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science ranks 170^th of 709 Oregon elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science?

Students at The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science are 52% White, 17% Two or more races, 16% Hispanic, 9% Not Specified, 4% African American, 3% Asian.

How many students attend The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science?

In the 2024-25 school year, 198 students attended The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science.

Rate The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science!

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Latest Oregon data All new data »

2025–26 OSAS test scoresSep 25, 2026

2023–24 through 2024–25 school spending dataAug 24, 2026

2024–25 graduation ratesJan 29, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataNov 20, 2025

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.