The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hocker Grove Middle
Hocker Grove Middle is a public school in Shawnee, Kansas, serving seventh and eighth graders as part of the Shawnee Mission School District. The school sits in a predominantly residential suburb of Johnson County, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Shawnee is car-dependent, with subdivisions, strip commercial corridors, and light industrial uses. The city has seen steady population growth and maintains an active comprehensive plan. Home values and rents in the area run well above state and national benchmarks, and the housing market reflects the broader suburban demand that has pushed prices higher in recent years.
State testing data from the 2024-25 school year shows that on the Kansas Assessment Program, about two in five seventh and eighth graders scored at the proficient or advanced level in math, and a similar share did so in English language arts. Science results for eighth graders land in the same range. The state changed its cut scores for math, ELA, and science in recent years, so direct year-over-year comparisons are not reliable. When placed against other districts in Johnson County, Hocker Grove Middle’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades falls in the bottom quarter. This is a meaningful piece of context: the county includes many districts with notably higher proficiency rates, and the gap here is wide enough that a family moving into the area may want to look closely at how the school supports students who are not yet at grade level and what academic interventions are in place.
The student body is majority white, with a large Hispanic population and smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a level of economic need that is above what many neighboring districts in Johnson County serve. Data on the number of students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records reviewed. The school enrolls a moderately sized group for a two-grade middle school, with balanced seventh and eighth grade sections.
The Shawnee Mission district has invested in district-wide signature programs such as biotechnology, engineering, and medical health sciences, along with a career technical campus offering law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency medicine pathways. These programs are based at high school and career centers, so they are not directly accessible to Hocker Grove Middle students, but they reflect the district’s overall orientation toward career and college preparation. The district also promotes personalized learning plans for every student, a pedagogical approach that would shape classroom practice at the middle school level as well.
Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, and staffing ratios was not present in the available data, so it is difficult to assess the school’s climate and support structures from a quantitative angle. A parent might want to ask the school directly about attendance patterns and how staff are allocated to meet student needs, especially given the economic diversity in the building.
For a family weighing this school, the picture is mixed. Hocker Grove Middle sits in a stable, growing suburban community with rising home values and a district that offers broad career-oriented high school options. But its state test outcomes are notably lower than many peer districts in the county, and the economic profile of the student body suggests that some students may face additional challenges. There is no evidence from this data of particular program strengths or weaknesses at the middle school level itself; the signature programs that distinguish the district are concentrated in high school. Anyone considering this school should visit, talk to staff about academic support and enrichment, and ask how the school addresses the range of student readiness levels it serves.
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