The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Pleasant Hill Intermediate
Pleasant Hill Intermediate sits in the Pleasant Hill R-III district, serving just two grades, fifth and sixth. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. The enrollment is moderate for a two-grade intermediate school, and the student body is predominantly white, with a small share of Hispanic students and an even smaller share of students who identify as Asian, Black, or two or more races. The proportion of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is modest, well below what many Missouri schools report, which gives a sense of the economic background of the families in the area.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, the school’s proficiency rates show a split pattern. In fifth-grade math, roughly a quarter of students scored at proficient or above, a soft spot that a parent may want to look into further with the school. Sixth-grade math came in stronger, with just under half of students reaching that bar. English language arts proficiency ran close to two in five in both grades, and fifth-grade science was similar. When you average across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint among districts in Cass County. That is a clear relative strength: compared to its county peers, Pleasant Hill Intermediate holds a solid position, though the absolute numbers leave room for growth.
Because the school only serves grades five and six, there is no graduation rate, no chronic absenteeism data, and no high school course access to report. Those fields simply do not apply here. The data also lacks figures on special education identification, English learner support, discipline rates, and staffing ratios, so a parent interested in those areas would need to ask the school directly.
The community context matters for understanding the school’s setting. Pleasant Hill is a small city in the Kansas City metropolitan area, a residential community with a historic downtown district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rock Island Trail State Park begins here, a long rails-to-trails corridor. Many residents commute elsewhere for work, and the housing market is moderately priced relative to the metro. The school district itself is the Pleasant Hill R-III system, and publicly reported information did not indicate any major recent changes to programming, boundaries, or leadership that would affect families.
For a parent or resident assessing fit, Pleasant Hill Intermediate offers an intermediate-grade step in a district that appears stable. The academic picture is mixed: the school performs respectably against its Cass County neighbors, but the proportion of students reaching proficiency is not high in absolute terms. The student body is economically less diverse than many schools, and the school’s small grade span means a focused environment where students transition from elementary to middle school the following year. Families who value a mid-sized, two-grade school in a suburban-style small town with a historic core and trail access may find it a natural match. Those concerned about math proficiency rates, especially in fifth grade, should engage the school to understand what support is available.
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