The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in Math. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Congress Middle
Congress Middle School is a regular public school in the Park Hill School District, serving grades six through eight in the Platte County portion of Kansas City. Its address lies north of the Missouri River, in a suburban area that has seen steady residential growth as the city expands into the county. The school draws from a community where home values and rents sit above the state median, a reflection of the area’s broader development pattern.
The student body is moderate in size for a middle school. Racially, the largest group is White, making up the majority, with substantial shares of Hispanic and Black students, and smaller populations of Asian, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Just under a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning the school serves a mix of economic backgrounds. Information on special education and English learner populations was not available in the data reviewed.
Academically, Congress Middle shows a pattern that shifts across grade levels and subjects. On the Missouri Assessment Program, sixth-grade math proficiency reached just above half of students tested, but that figure declined each subsequent year, with eighth-grade math scoring notably lower. English language arts proficiency was more consistent across the three grades, hovering around two-fifths of students. Science, tested only in eighth grade, was below two-fifths as well. When compared against other districts in Platte County, Congress Middle’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades placed in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to discuss with the school how these results vary by student group and what supports are in place to address the drop in math performance between middle school entry and exit.
Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report. No data on chronic absenteeism or discipline were available in the reviewed materials, so it is not possible to speak to those areas from the evidence on hand.
The community context is shaped by the Park Hill district’s recent facility changes. The district opened the LEAD Innovation Studio, a separate 9–12 program, in a new building in fall 2020, creating an alternative high school pathway. More immediately for current families, the district is opening its twelfth elementary school in August 2025, which will shift attendance boundaries for many families in the area. That change may affect which elementary students feed into Congress Middle in the years ahead.
Housing in the immediate area around the school reflects a market where homes are valued above the national typical single-family home price, and monthly rents are in line with that market. The national unemployment rate at the time of this data was modest, and mortgage rates were elevated, which can affect affordability for families moving into the district.
In sum, Congress Middle is a school that serves a predominantly White, economically mixed student body in a growing suburban part of northern Kansas City. Its test results are lower than those of other Platte County districts, particularly in mathematics by eighth grade, and the school’s proficiency across subjects places it in the bottom tier of the four-district county comparison. Families considering this school may want to inquire about the specific instructional strategies and interventions used in math across the three middle school years, and how the district’s new elementary school will affect both enrollment and feeder patterns for the school.
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