Pleasantville El, Houston TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Pleasantville El

Pleasantville Elementary is a prekindergarten-through-fifth-grade school in Houston serving a small enrollment in a high-poverty neighborhood. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is about equally divided between Black and Hispanic students, with very few white students. The school is located in east Houston on Gellhorn Drive.

On state tests administered in spring 2025, proficiency was uneven across grade levels and subjects. In English language arts, third grade was notably low, with only a small portion reaching proficiency; fourth grade improved substantially; fifth grade was stronger still. Math proficiency also started low in third grade, remained similarly low in fourth, then improved in fifth. Science proficiency in fifth grade was very low. Across all tested grades and subjects combined, the school's overall proficiency rate placed it below the midpoint compared to other schools in Harris County.

The pattern suggests older students at the school perform better than younger ones on state tests, or that students gain ground between third and fifth grades. A parent considering this school may want to look further into what instruction looks like in the primary grades and what supports are in place for early literacy and numeracy.

Pleasantville is part of Houston Independent School District, which has been under state control since 2023. The Texas Education Agency dissolved the elected school board and appointed a state superintendent and board of managers to oversee the district. Control will return to elected leadership only after the district meets specific criteria around academic performance, special education compliance, and governance—a timeline set for at least June 2027. This means there is no local elected school board.

Since the takeover, the district has rolled out a standardized instructional model called the New Education System at a growing number of schools, featuring prescribed curriculum, daily timed quizzes in core subjects, longer school days, and stricter classroom routines. Pleasantville Elementary does not currently appear to be a designated NES school, though elements of the district's reforms have spread across campuses. The district's focus has narrowed considerably during state oversight, and the takeover has also included the conversion of school libraries into spaces used partly for discipline, eliminating traditional librarian roles at affected schools.

In November 2024, Houston ISD voters rejected a substantial school bond package, the largest ever proposed in Texas. The defeat means planned campus renovations, facility upgrades, HVAC repairs, security improvements, and pre-K expansion will not proceed, leaving aging buildings in need of work.

Housing in the school's zip code is affordable by national and state standards, with median home values substantially below both state and national averages. Rent is similarly modest. The neighborhood is part of the broader Houston area, which is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan regions in the United States, though Houston ISD itself has experienced accelerating enrollment losses during the state takeover, with over ten thousand students leaving between 2022-23 and 2024-25.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 47% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 46% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 26% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 23% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 52% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 26% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 3% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolHOUSTON ISD, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.