Pleasant Valley Intermediate Sch, Peoria IL

Original Research by School Decision on Pleasant Valley Intermediate Sch

Pleasant Valley Intermediate School serves fourth through eighth grade students in Peoria, Illinois, as part of Pleasant Valley School District 62. The school enrolls a small population across its five grade bands, with fourth and eighth grades representing the largest cohorts and fifth grade the smallest.

The student body is majority Black, with a substantial minority of white students and a smaller multiracial population; Hispanic enrollment is minimal. Demographic data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learners was not available, so a reader cannot assess economic need or support service scope from the provided information.

Academic performance is a clear area of concern. State proficiency results from Illinois Assessment of Readiness testing show consistently low outcomes across tested subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rates range from approximately one in ten eighth graders to about one in four fourth graders and sixth graders. English language arts proficiency is more variable: fourth and eighth graders perform notably better, with around half of fourth graders and three in five eighth graders meeting proficiency standards, while sixth and seventh graders fall to around one in four. Science proficiency, tested only in fifth and eighth grades, follows the same pattern of decline, with fifth graders at about one in three and eighth graders at roughly one in five. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Peoria County.

A parent may want to look into these results further with the school. The variance between grade levels and between ELA and math performance suggests specific interventions or staffing changes may be underway, or that student cohorts differ meaningfully. Testing participation rates are consistently high across grades and subjects, so low proficiency does not reflect absenteeism on test day.

The school serves students in a mid-sized Illinois city with a mix of residential neighborhoods, a revitalized downtown, and adaptive-reuse housing projects. Peoria's economy is anchored by healthcare and manufacturing, particularly OSF Healthcare and Caterpillar. The community has invested in riverfront parks, transit via CityLink, and redevelopment of mixed-use districts. Housing values in the area are below state and national benchmarks, and the market is characterized as affordably priced relative to regional and national standards, though the city faces low overall housing inventory.

District-level information about recent changes in curriculum, staffing, or strategic priorities was not located, so the reader cannot assess whether the school is in transition or stable. No data were available on course offerings, special programs, discipline practices, attendance rates, or staffing characteristics that might help explain proficiency patterns or describe the peer environment and support systems students encounter.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 28%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Science

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolPleasant Valley SD 62, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.