The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in Science. The lowest is 58% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Pleasant Gap El Sch
Pleasant Gap Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Bellefonte Area School District, a small, long-established public school in a rural village setting within the State College metro area. The school sits on Main Street in Pleasant Gap, a quiet, primarily residential unincorporated community in the Nittany Valley known for its small-town character and easy access to State College and Bellefonte.
The school enrollment is small, with roughly equal numbers across each grade level. About a third of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly white, with small numbers of Asian, Hispanic, American Indian, and multiracial students and no Black or Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander students reported.
In the most recent math assessment data, the school's proficiency rate was in the mid-range for the state; in English Language Arts, proficiency was lower. Science proficiency, measured in the prior year, was notably high. On the overall proficiency index that combines results across tested subjects and grades, Pleasant Gap stands in the top quartile relative to districts in Centre County.
The school opened a new comprehensive K-5 facility in fall 2026 along Airport Road near Bellefonte Area High School, replacing the former Pleasant Gap Elementary and Benner Elementary buildings as part of a district-wide consolidation. This new building reset which elementary families attend, but Pleasant Gap families will continue to feed into the same middle and high school pipeline. The district also adopted a new elementary English Language Arts curriculum in spring 2025, which Pleasant Gap Elementary is implementing as part of this broader literacy shift across the district.
Housing in Pleasant Gap is moderately valued relative to the state benchmark and is appreciating steadily. Most homes are single-family residences, and newer construction is occurring in subdivisions at the village's edges, particularly townhome developments and the Pleasant Hills neighborhood. The community draws residents who commute to Penn State and the State College area; top employment sectors locally are educational services, health care and social assistance, and retail trade. Major state employers nearby include SCI Rockview and SCI Benner Township prisons and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's state hatcheries. Public transit via CATA has shifted from a fixed Pleasant Gap route to on-demand micro-transit service into the village.
The school environment itself is rural and dispersed rather than centered in a traditional downtown; civic anchors include Gettig Park and the Pleasant Gap American Legion. A parent or resident considering Pleasant Gap Elementary should understand that it is a small neighborhood school in a quiet suburban village with solidly proficient science performance and competitive overall results among county peers, set within a district that is investing in new facilities and curriculum infrastructure at the elementary level.
See more original research from School Decision →