The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pleasant Hill El
Pleasant Hill Elementary is a small school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in south Austin, with an enrollment composed overwhelmingly of students from low-income Hispanic households. The school sits in a community where housing has softened in value over the past year, and rents remain modest for the region.
The student body is about four in five Hispanic students, with smaller shares of Black and white peers. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. State testing data was available for grades three through five in the current school year. Fifth grade shows the strongest performance: in language arts, a notable share of students reached proficiency on the state assessment, and roughly half reached the "meets" or higher standard. Fourth grade trails at about one in three in both math and language arts. Third grade sits lower still, at about one in four in language arts. Science proficiency in fifth grade is notably soft, with only a small share meeting the state standard. Across all tested subjects, about one in three students reached proficiency overall.
These results place Pleasant Hill modestly above the midpoint for proficiency when compared against other schools in Travis County, though the school's trajectory remains constrained. The data shows a pattern typical of schools serving high-poverty populations with limited English proficiency: performance is manageable but uneven, and younger grades show lower attainment than older ones, suggesting the school is working to help students catch up as they advance.
Austin ISD, the district that operates Pleasant Hill, is in a period of structural change. In November 2024, voters approved a property tax increase to fund staff raises and reduce the district's significant budget deficit. More consequentially, in November 2025 the board approved a consolidation plan closing ten schools before the 2026-27 school year in response to declining enrollment over the past decade. Pleasant Hill was not named among the schools slated to close, so families should expect continuity, though attendance boundaries and program offerings across the broader district are being redrawn as part of the reorganization. Parents are also seeing new and rebuilt school facilities open across Austin ISD as a multi-billion-dollar bond approved in 2022 continues to be executed.
The school itself is situated in a south Austin ZIP code where home values and rents have edged downward in the past year. The area is car-oriented; Austin's most walkable neighborhoods and civic anchors cluster downtown and around the University of Texas, several miles away. Austin as a whole is growing rapidly and remains a technology and government employment hub, though the broader metro's population growth rate has been among the highest in the country.
For families seeking a bilingual or emerging-English-learner pathway, Pleasant Hill's composition and location may be relevant, but parents may want to look into the school's English language program specifics and any recent changes to dual-language offerings in the district before deciding. Similarly, with state assessments showing softer results in science and lower proficiency in earlier grades, a parent might ask the school directly about targeted support in math and reading, and what interventions are in place for students not yet meeting grade-level expectations.
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