The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Paseo Acad. of Performing Arts
Paseo Academy of the Performing Arts is a regular public school in Kansas City, Missouri, serving grades seven through twelve. The school is part of the Kansas City 33 district, which received full state accreditation in 2022 after a period of provisional status, a publicly reported shift that signals sustained improvement and removes a layer of uncertainty about the district’s oversight. Enrolling a student body that is roughly half Black and well over a third Hispanic, with the remainder comprising white students and small shares of Asian, Native American, multiracial, and Pacific Islander students, the school’s demographic composition reflects a diverse urban student population.
State assessment results are available for the 2024-25 school year, and they show that the school’s academic performance in tested subjects falls well below typical rates across the county. In seventh-grade math, approximately one in six students scored at the proficient level or above, while eighth-grade math proficiency was very low. In English language arts, roughly one in five seventh graders and a similar share of eighth graders met the proficiency bar. In eighth-grade science, about one in seven students reached proficiency. When combined across all tested grades and subjects into a single index, the school’s overall proficiency places it in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts in Jackson County. A parent considering this school will want to investigate the academic supports and instructional approaches the school offers for students who are not yet at grade level. Only one year of this multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to assess whether student outcomes are improving or declining over time.
Every student at Paseo Academy qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, an indication that the school serves a population with high economic need. The school operates as a performing arts academy, and the full range of its arts program offerings was not detailed in the available data. A parent drawn to the school’s arts focus will likely want to speak with the school directly about the specific pathways available in dance, music, theater, and visual art, and how those integrate with the academic schedule.
The school’s location in Kansas City places it within a major urban center that is the largest city in Missouri by both population and land area. The city is known for its transportation history, jazz heritage, barbecue culture, and a distinctive boulevard system. Development patterns are a mix of dense pockets Downtown, in the River Market, and along the Country Club Plaza, with lower-density residential neighborhoods covering a large footprint. The school itself is situated on Flora Avenue, in a residential part of the city, on a campus typical of a neighborhood school rather than in a downtown setting. Housing in the immediate area is priced below the state’s typical home value, and rents place it roughly in line with what a national median household would consider affordable for rent. The broader metropolitan economy has a diversified base of employers including healthcare, financial services, logistics, and the government sector.
The data did not include a four-year graduation rate, chronic absenteeism figures, discipline records, course access information, or staffing ratios. For a family deciding between schools, these are notable gaps. Graduation rate and student support data are often central in evaluating a secondary school, and their absence here means a parent will need to ask the school directly about persistence to graduation, college-going rates, and how the school tracks and supports students who may be at risk of falling behind. The school’s status as a regular public school within a fully accredited district, coupled with its performing arts identity, gives it a clear profile. It serves a high-need, diverse student body in an urban setting and has state test results that indicate a large share of students are still working toward grade-level standards. The arts focus is the school’s distinguishing feature, and families whose priority is a performing arts curriculum within a public school setting will find that here, even as they evaluate the academic side carefully against their own expectations.
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