Summary:
Prairie-Hills Education Service District 144 has eight schools: seven serving prekindergarten through grade 5 and one junior high serving grades 6–8, with 2025–2026 proficiency results available for comparison with the state. Across the schools, average proficiency was 31% in ELA and 17% in math, compared with 56% and 40% statewide; the main takeaway is that area results are well below state levels overall, despite one school coming close.
Prairie-Hills STEAM Academy stands out: its 54% ELA and 36% math results were the highest reported in the area and were about 2 and 4 percentage points below state results. Mae Jemison School was next among broad all-grades performers, at 37% ELA and 26% math. Results were much lower at the other end: Chateaux School had the lowest ELA result, 21%, while Prairie-Hills Junior High School had the lowest reported math result, 6%—about 34 points below the state. The junior high also had the lowest SchoolDigger percentile ranking, at the 1st percentile in 2025–2026. Nob Hill’s math result was not reported, so it cannot be placed in the math ranking.
Results changed only modestly overall: average ELA proficiency rose about 2 percentage points from the previous year, but the state result rose faster, widening the average gap by about 2 points. Math was nearly flat, while the state improved and the gap widened by about 1 point. There are other differences parents may weigh: STEAM had the lowest chronic absenteeism, 19%, compared with 41% at Fieldcrest; its student–teacher ratio was 16.1, versus 19.1 at Chateaux. As context, free/reduced lunch eligible rates in 2024–2025 ranged from 94% at Markham Park to 96% at Chateaux; Nob Hill and STEAM instead reported all students receive free meals (Community Eligibility) that year. These measures are context, not explanations for school results; grade-specific results are also limited where scores were suppressed.
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