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Pleasant Grove Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
583rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 680 Alabama Elementary Schools
Better than 14% of Alabama elementary schools
Summary

Pleasant Grove Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 595 students in grades PK-6 in Pleasant Grove, Alabama, which is part of the Jefferson County school district.

Despite being part of the Jefferson County district, which is ranked 101 out of 135 districts in the state, Pleasant Grove Elementary has consistently been ranked in the bottom half of Alabama elementary schools, receiving a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past 10 school years. The school's academic performance is significantly below state and county averages, with only 10.39% of 3rd graders, 7.41% of 4th graders, and 3.33% of 5th graders scoring proficient or better in mathematics, compared to the state averages of 45.47%, 41.76%, and 39.31% respectively. The school's English language arts proficiency rates are also notably lower than the state and county averages.

Additionally, Pleasant Grove Elementary has a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with 53.28% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, which is significantly higher than the state average. The school has also struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 9.6% to 17.9% over the past few years, which is notably higher than the state average. These factors likely contribute to the school's academic challenges and suggest the need for targeted interventions to support student engagement and success.

524
Students ?
17.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$8,020
Per pupil spending ?
64.1%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 601 Park Rd
       Pleasant Grove, AL  35127

(205) 379-5200

District: Jefferson County


Students who attend Pleasant Grove Elementary School usually attend:

High:    Pleasant Grove High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
91.4%
White:
3.8%
Hispanic:
2.7%
more
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 Compare Pleasant Grove Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 23rd percentile in 2015 → 14th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Alabama average (27% vs 52% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school27%
District avg41%
Alabama avg52%
583rd of 680
Alabama public elementary schools ?
Bottom 14%▼ down 9 pts since 2015
From bottom 23% (2015) to bottom 14% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
22nd of 26Elementary Schools in the Jefferson County
101st of 135Jefferson County among Alabama districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202515.5583 of 68014.3%★☆☆☆☆
202416.2573 of 68416.2%★☆☆☆☆
202313.1597 of 68012.2%★☆☆☆☆
202214.9588 of 68714.4%★☆☆☆☆
202117.9569 of 69217.8%★☆☆☆☆
201926.9506 of 68125.7%★☆☆☆☆
201826.7501 of 68026.3%★☆☆☆☆
201723.6542 of 68821.2%★☆☆☆☆
201628.5515 of 69125.5%★☆☆☆☆
201526.3532 of 69123.0%★☆☆☆☆
201438.0465 of 69533.1%★★☆☆☆
201364.1267 of 69661.6%★★★☆☆
201274.3140 of 69679.9%★★★★☆
201164.9262 of 70963.0%★★★☆☆
201067.3215 of 70469.5%★★★☆☆
200951.3380 of 69645.4%★★☆☆☆
200850.1387 of 69844.6%★★☆☆☆
200740.7472 of 69832.4%★★☆☆☆
200664.9213 of 68969.1%★★★☆☆
200564.9212 of 68869.2%★★★☆☆
200476.5108 of 62382.7%★★★★☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202530.7306 of 42728.3%★☆☆☆☆
202430.2310 of 42026.2%★☆☆☆☆
202323.2358 of 42716.2%★☆☆☆☆
202226.9331 of 42622.3%★☆☆☆☆
202131.1303 of 42628.9%★☆☆☆☆
201944.0221 of 42648.1%★★☆☆☆
201848.9211 of 42350.1%★★★☆☆
201737.1209 of 33637.8%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202517.3547 of 64915.7%★☆☆☆☆
202415.8567 of 65012.8%★☆☆☆☆
202315.5561 of 64513.0%★☆☆☆☆
202216.4565 of 65613.9%★☆☆☆☆
202118.4546 of 65616.8%★☆☆☆☆
201926.4499 of 64622.8%★☆☆☆☆
201828.6481 of 64024.8%★☆☆☆☆
201722.2520 of 63918.6%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202514.2612 of 6607.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.3580 of 67013.4%★☆☆☆☆
202316.7548 of 62312.0%★☆☆☆☆
202213.7601 of 6517.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202121.5527 of 65319.3%★☆☆☆☆
201927.7509 of 64921.6%★☆☆☆☆
201824.7527 of 65119.0%★☆☆☆☆
201718.7484 of 56714.6%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202513.6584 of 65110.3%★☆☆☆☆
202417.8544 of 65516.9%★☆☆☆☆
202312.5580 of 64910.6%★☆☆☆☆
202214.7579 of 66913.5%★☆☆☆☆
202117.8546 of 66918.4%★☆☆☆☆
201928.5483 of 65025.7%★☆☆☆☆
201826.5490 of 65024.6%★☆☆☆☆
201726.1484 of 63924.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202524.0339 of 40315.9%★☆☆☆☆
202428.1293 of 39525.8%★☆☆☆☆
202316.5354 of 3735.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202217.5326 of 3455.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202119.0372 of 3986.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201920.2351 of 39210.5%★☆☆☆☆
201817.2316 of 3448.1%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202235.3363 of 54032.8%★★☆☆☆
202125.2429 of 53920.4%★☆☆☆☆
201950.5249 of 52952.9%★★★☆☆
201832.7373 of 50826.6%★☆☆☆☆
201715.5340 of 3697.9%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
White (2022)33rd percentile+18 vs school
African American (2025)28th percentile+14 vs school
Special Education (2025)16th percentile~ school
Female (2025)16th percentile~ school
Male (2025)10th percentile-4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile-7 vs school
By subject vs Alabama (2024-2025) ?
English48%-17 vs state
Science25%-17 vs state
Mathematics7%-35 vs state

3.2
5 ratings · 3 written reviews
52
41
30
20
12
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What people are saying
by a parent
Thursday, July 20, 2017

Open Quote I don't know who ranked this school so poorly, but I question whether or not you have any children in this school. PGES is an excellent school and the staff does a great job with the students. No school is perfect, but this school is far from a one-star elementary school. Close Quote


by a parent
Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Open Quote I'm surprised by the previous post as well. I would suggest that anyone interested in Pleasant Grove Elementary read some of the posts on www.greatschools.net for more reviews. Close Quote


by a parent
Saturday, August 8, 2009

Open Quote After being in a different AL School District for 5 yrs, a school district that did what law said & what we asked & we were happy with. We had to move to Jefferson County School district w/a job transfer.
We were more than disappointed w/Pleasant Grove Elementary. The administration was less than satisfying. By administration I mean Principal Jacks & Asst. Principal Lightsey. I was lied to over & over by them. They kept claiming that they could not do certain things w/my son, who is Sp Ed. But I did my homework & found out that they COULD do the things I was requesting. They refused over & over even when I took a book of the Sp Ed laws in the State of AL & threw it in their faces. We went to the Jefferson County School Board & again was disappointed. No one seemed to care whether our son learned anything or not. Everyone seemed more concerned about the schools test scores. We thought about suing the school system, but decided to just home school instead. My son has learned more being home schooled than he did in his 2 yrs in Pleasant Grove Elem. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Pleasant Grove Elementary School

Pleasant Grove Elementary School ranks in the bottom 14.3% of Alabama elementary schools.

Students at Pleasant Grove Elementary School are 91% African American, 4% White, 3% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 524 students attended Pleasant Grove Elementary School.

Students who attend Pleasant Grove Elementary School usually go on to attend:

High : Pleasant Grove High School


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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