Peters Schools Among Pittsburgh Area's Best K-8s: U.S. News

PETERS TOWNSHIP, PA — The top elementary and middle schools in Pennsylvania have been ranked in a new U.S. News & World Report study, and two Peters Township schools are ranked near the top regionally.

Peters Township Middle School was rated the 5th-best middle school in the Pittsburgh area, while Bower Hill was ranked the 2nd-best elementary school.

U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States. Schools are ranked at the state and district levels. The best charter schools and best magnet schools ranked as stand-alone categories.

What follows is a list of the best middle and elementary schools in southwestern Pennsylvania, with their state ranking listed parenthetically.

Middle Schools

1. Boyce Upper St. Clair (5).

2. South Fayette, South Fayette (6)

3. Fort Couch, Upper St. Clair (9)

4. Mellon, Mt. Lebanon (10)

5. Peters Township, Peters Township (13)

6. Dorseyville, Fox Chapel (19)

7. Hampton, Hampton (21)

8. Haine, Seneca Valley (29)

9. Independence, Bethel Park (31)

10. Pittsburgh CAPA, Pittsburgh Public Schools (33)

11. David E. Williams, Montour (34)

12. Pine, Pine-Richland (36)

13. Moon Area, Moon Area (42)

Elementary Schools

1. Fairview, Fox Chapel (1)

2. Bower Hill, Peters Township (2)

3. Pleasant Valley, Peters Township (3)

4. Markham, Mt. Lebanon (4)

5. O'Hara, Fox Chapel (9)

6. Foster, Mt. Lebanon (10)

7. Richland, Pine-Richland (11)

8. Poff, Hampton (12)

9. Burchfield, Shaler (13)

10. Hance, Pine-Richland (14)

11. Franklin, North Allegheny (15)

12. Scott, Shaler (16)

13. Hoover, Mt. Lebanon (18)

14. Baker, Upper St. Clair (22)

15. Clara Barton, West Mifflin (24)

16. Jefferson, Mt. Lebanon (25)

17. McCormick, Moon (29)

18. Washington, Mt. Lebanon (32)

19. Eisenhower, Upper St. Clair (44)

2o. Bradford Woods, North Allegheny (50)

To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:

• Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
• Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.

The state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-19 school year and, therefore, predates any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on test-taking.

Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools.

California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.

See the complete list of 2021's Best K-8 Schools.

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