Summary:
Zip code 97239, covering the southwest Portland neighborhoods around Johns Landing and Council Crest, has just one middle school: Gray Middle School, which serves 439 students in grades 6 through 8 as part of Portland School District 1J. Because there is no second school in the zip code to compare against, the most useful benchmarks are the district average and the Oregon state average — and by both measures this school is exceptional.
Gray Middle School is ranked 16th of 371 Oregon middle schools, the 96th percentile, and earns 5 out of 5 stars. Its district also performs well, ranking 12th of 141 (91st percentile), so the school is outperforming a district that is itself already strong. In English language arts, 73.0% of students are proficient versus 57.8% district-wide and 43.8% statewide; in math, 61.6% versus 50.5% and 32.9%; in science, 58.1% versus 45.1% and 30.6%. That is roughly 28 to 29 points above the state in every core subject, and no subject falls below 58% proficiency.
Results are consistent rather than a one-year spike: ranks of 16, 18 and 18 over three consecutive years, each with 5 stars. Two items are worth watching. Eighth-grade math proficiency falls to 53.0% from 66.7% in 7th grade — the only figure in the record below 58% — and the school's lead over the district is thinnest at that grade. Chronic absenteeism is 30.7%, better than the district's 32.5% and the state's 33.5%, but still nearly one in three students. About 43.5% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, per-student spending is $22,220, and the student-teacher ratio is 18.5 to 1.
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