Buhler

The Buhler area has seven schools, including three elementary schools, a middle school, high-school options and an alternative program. Across the five traditional schools with reported scores, average proficiency is above state figures in all three subjects: 49% in English language arts (ELA), 47% in math and 45% in science—about 3, 6 and 7 points above the state, respectively. The clearest overall finding is that this generally positive picture across traditional schools contrasts with substantially lower results at the virtual school.

Plum Creek Elementary leads the reported all-grades results in ELA, at 54% (8 points above state), and math, at 53% (12 points above). Buhler Grade School stands out in science: its 68% result is for 5th grade, 22 points above the state’s 5th-grade result. At the other end, Ad Astra Virtual Academy reports 20% in ELA, 20% in math and 27% in science—26, 21 and 11 points below the state’s all-grades figures. Prairie Hills Middle is above state in all three subjects, while Buhler High is below in all three.

Recent changes are mixed rather than showing a consistent upward trend. From 2024–25 to 2025–26, Prairie Hills improved by 6 points in ELA, 7 in math and 3 in science; Buhler Grade School declined by 14, 8 and 9 points, respectively, and Plum Creek’s science score fell 16 points. SchoolDigger’s latest statewide rankings place Prairie Hills at the 68th percentile among middle schools, Buhler Grade School at the 66th, Plum Creek at the 60th, Union Valley at the 57th and Buhler High at the 53rd; over three years, Plum Creek rose 12 percentile points while Buhler Grade School fell 13. Because schools serve different grades, grade-level comparisons are more useful; Ad Astra Alternative Academy has no supplied test scores.