Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 97224

ZIP code 97224 in Tigard, Oregon is home to five public elementary schools — James Templeton Elementary School, Deer Creek Elementary School, Durham Elementary School, Alberta Rider Elementary School, and Art Rutkin Elementary School — serving students from pre-kindergarten or kindergarten through 5th grade. Together they enroll about 2,046 students, ranging from 131 to 543 per school, and all belong to Tigard-Tualatin School District 23J, which ranks 24th of 141 Oregon districts.

Art Rutkin Elementary School is the clear standout: it earned 5 stars in each of the last three years, ranked 60th of 709 Oregon schools (92nd percentile) in 2025–26, and has the group's highest proficiency in ELA (64.2%), math (63.9%), and science (51.4%). It also has by far the lowest chronic absenteeism (9.2%), the smallest classes (14.8:1), and the highest spending per student ($25,147) — though with only 131 students, its results swing more year to year. Deer Creek Elementary School (52.9% ELA) and James Templeton Elementary School are both improving, while Alberta Rider Elementary School has slid from the 76th to the 45th percentile in two years, holds the only 2-star rating here, and has the group's lowest science (20.0%) and 5th grade math (24.6%). Durham Elementary School has also dipped.

Notably, the five schools serve very similar low-income populations — free/reduced lunch rates span just 57.49% to 63.17% — yet results differ sharply, so demographics alone don't explain the gap. Science is the shared weak spot, and math drops in 5th grade at four of the five schools. Spending doesn't track performance: lowest-spending Deer Creek ranks second on outcomes. Every school beats the district (33.6%) and state (33.5%) absenteeism rates.