Summary
Rieke Elementary School is a K–5 school serving 279 students at 1405 SW Vermont in the Hillsdale area of Southwest Portland, part of Portland School District 1J, a district ranked 12th of 141 in Oregon. Rieke sits at the very top of that district: in 2025–26 it ranked 7th of 709 Oregon elementary schools (99th percentile, 5 stars), and it has placed 4th, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 7th across the five most recent reporting years.
Test results are the clearest sign of the school's strength. In 2025–26, 80.5% of Rieke students met standards in English language arts, 76.5% in math, and 75.9% in science — compared with 57.8%, 50.5%, and 45.1% in its own district and 43.8%, 32.9%, and 30.6% statewide. It outperforms its district by 23 to 31 points in every subject, and among nearby schools it ranks 2nd of 11 in ELA and science and 3rd of 11 in math. Capitol Hill, less than a mile away, trails by 18.5 points in ELA, 13.8 in math, and 22.1 in science. Bridlemile and Ainsworth are the only neighborhood peers in the same tier, and Rieke still leads both on ELA and science. The one school that outranks Rieke, Winterhaven, is a K–8 school with citywide enrollment rather than a neighborhood elementary.
Attendance and subgroup results reinforce the picture. Chronic absenteeism is 14.4%, roughly half the district rate of 32.5% and the state rate of 33.5%. Among Oregon schools, Rieke ranks 1st of 355 for its special education students, with male and female students both in the 97th percentile or higher. Notably, Rieke achieves this with the largest classes among its neighbors — a student–teacher ratio of 20.1 — and per-student spending of $23,265, in line with nearby Portland schools that produce much lower results. Families should also note that a recent jump in free/reduced-lunch percentages appears at nearly every nearby school, which suggests a change in how eligibility is reported rather than a shift in the student population.
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