The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pear Park Elementary School
Pear Park Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Grand Junction, a city that acts as the economic and cultural center for Colorado’s Western Slope. The school is part of Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, the largest district in the region, which recently renewed a strategic plan covering 2025 through 2030 after meeting the goals of its prior plan. That district-wide framework will set academic and student support priorities across its more than forty schools, giving Pear Park families a context of coordinated direction.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic representation, and very small numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that this school serves a community with significant economic need. State assessment data, which comes from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, shows that in math, just under a third of students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In English language arts, just over a third reached that bar. On the fifth-grade science assessment, the share of students scoring proficient or above was lower. These results place the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Mesa County. A parent may want to talk with the school about how it supports students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks, particularly in science.
The school participates in state testing at notably high rates, above 97 percent in all three subjects, which means the results reflect nearly the entire student population rather than a self-selected group. No data was available on the share of students with individualized education programs or English learner status, so it is not possible from this record to assess how the school serves those populations or how those groups perform on the same assessments. Similarly, information on discipline, staffing ratios, and chronic absenteeism was not provided.
Pear Park sits in Grand Junction, a high-desert city at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, surrounded by public lands like the Colorado National Monument and the Grand Mesa. The city’s economy is anchored by healthcare, education, and government, with Colorado Mesa University as a notable presence adjacent to a walkable downtown core. Grand Junction grew at a steady pace in recent years and serves as the major urban center between Denver and Salt Lake City. Housing values in the area around the school are moderate relative to state and national benchmarks, and the rental market follows a similar pattern, though affordability relative to local incomes may be a consideration for families evaluating the neighborhood.
The school itself is a regular public elementary school, not a charter or magnet, and it serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. This matters for families with younger children because state testing does not begin until third grade, so the school’s academic record is built on the performance of just grades three through five. No program offerings such as specialized academies or before- and after-school care were listed in the available data, so families seeking those features would need to contact the school or district directly.
Pear Park is a school that serves a population with significant economic need, where a large majority of students qualify for meal assistance. Its state assessment results, while showing high participation, indicate that a majority of tested students are not yet at the proficient level in any of the three subjects assessed. This context, alongside the district’s renewed strategic plan, suggests a school and system aware of the need for continued academic improvement. For a family, the key question is likely how well the school’s approach to instruction and intervention matches what their child requires to progress toward grade-level proficiency.
See more original research from School Decision →