The top reported proficiency rate is 88% in English language arts. The lowest is 71% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pleasantdale Middle Sch
Pleasantdale Middle School serves about a small town's worth of students in grades five through eight in Burr Ridge, an affluent village southwest of Chicago straddling DuPage and Cook counties. The school sits in a setting of large-lot residential subdivisions, office parks, and highway-adjacent commercial sites, anchored by the Burr Ridge Village Center, a mixed-use lifestyle shopping and dining hub. The community skews older and high-income, with estate-scale properties and gated communities; recent development has focused on age-restricted and luxury formats as established neighborhoods age.
Academic performance at Pleasantdale is solid across the board. In English language arts, student proficiency is notably strong in the middle grades, climbing from about four-fifths proficient in grade five to over nine in ten proficient by grades seven and eight. Math proficiency hovers in the mid-to-high range across grades five through eight, with the strongest showing in grade eight; grade six math dips somewhat, but remains above two-thirds proficient. Science proficiency in grade five sits closer to two-thirds, while grade eight science reaches nearly eight in ten proficient. Overall, the school ranks in the top quarter among districts tested in Cook County on a composite proficiency measure. Test participation rates are consistently strong, above nine in ten in most grades.
The student body reflects the surrounding community. The enrollment is small. The vast majority of students are white; Hispanic students make up a modest portion, Asian students a small share, and Black, Native Hawaiian, and multiracial students each represent single-digit counts. Data on students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor was information on students receiving special education services or English learner status.
State testing data for grades three and four were not reported, likely because the school serves grades five through eight only. No graduation rate applies, as the school does not serve high school grades.
The parent district, Pleasantdale SD 107, has faced a years-long challenge around facility capacity and early childhood expansion. The district once offered full-day preschool but reduced it to half-day years ago to preserve space for elementary grades. A proposed bond referendum for a new early childhood center floated for the March 2024 ballot was not advanced to voters. In early 2025 the district explored buying and renovating Burr Ridge Village Hall to house a full-day preschool with property tax support, but the board withdrew that plan in March 2025. As a result, preschool remains half-day and capacity-constrained, and the district's longer-term approach to early childhood and facility growth remains unresolved. Families relying on district preschool care should factor this uncertainty into planning.
Housing in the surrounding 60527 zip code is at the higher end. The typical home value sits well above the state median, with year-over-year appreciation modest. Rental costs are also elevated. A household would spend roughly one-third of income on rent; mortgage affordability for a typical home, assuming standard lending terms, would consume about one-sixth of household income more than rental, making the purchase gap relevant for cost-sensitive buyers.
The school operates within a district that is currently navigating facility decisions and property-tax trade-offs around growth, so a parent may want to check in with the school directly on how those broader district questions affect classroom and program stability moving forward.
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