The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Science. The lowest is 23% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Callaway Hills Elem.
Callaway Hills Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Holts Summit, a small, primarily residential city in Callaway County about seven miles northeast of Jefferson City. The school is part of the Jefferson City Public Schools district, which means older children from Holts Summit travel to Jefferson City for secondary school while elementary students stay closer to home.
The student body is predominantly white, with a much smaller number of students identifying as two or more races and very small shares of Hispanic, Black, Asian, and American Indian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, giving the school a moderate level of economic diversity. The enrollment is small for an elementary building, and the grade-level counts are balanced enough to keep class sizes manageable.
State testing results for the most recent school year give a mixed picture that varies notably by grade and subject. In third grade, math and English language arts proficiency rates were low, with a modest share of students scoring at the proficient or advanced level. Fourth grade math was stronger, with a larger share reaching proficiency. Fifth grade math was the standout among tested subjects, with a solid majority of students meeting the proficiency bar, and fifth grade science also showed a clear majority proficient. English language arts results for fourth and fifth grade were suppressed in the data, so it is not possible to see how those grade levels performed in reading and writing. A parent with a child entering these upper elementary grades may want to ask the school directly for those English language arts outcomes.
When placed against other districts in Callaway County, this school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands in the top quartile. That positioning suggests that while certain grade-level results are soft, the building as a whole is performing well relative to its immediate geographic peers in the county.
The community context is that of a suburban bedroom community that has experienced steady growth since its incorporation. Housing values in the area are roughly in line with the state benchmark. The town has a car-dependent layout, with civic life centered on Summit Drive, where City Hall is located. The local economy does not feature a single dominant employer within Holts Summit itself; many residents likely commute to Jefferson City for work. The city provides its own police and volunteer fire departments and hosts special events, though no public library or transit system was identified in the available information.
No recent district-level changes or strategic priorities were found for Jefferson City Public Schools that would directly affect this school, so the narrative on that front is simply that no notable shifts were publicly reported.
For a family weighing this school, the key considerations are the strength in upper elementary math and science, the moderate economic diversity of the student body, the small size of the building, and the fact that children move on to Jefferson City for middle and high school. The softer early-grade proficiency numbers, especially in third grade English language arts, are worth a conversation with the school to understand what supports are in place.
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