Study Ranks Southwestern Pennsylvania's Top School Districts

PITTSBURGH, PA - As the 2017-18 school year kicks off, parents and students heading to their first day of school can see how their school district stacks up against others in the state as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of school districts across the country. The research and informational research company ranks 20 southwestern Pennsylvania districts as among the top 100 in the state.

According to Niche, the best school district in southwestern Pennsylvania is North Allegheny, which ranked third in the state. With an overall grade of A-plus, the district received A-plus grades in academics, teachers, clubs and activities, diversity, college prep and health and safety.

To arrive at these rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. The methodology for each category of ranking varied. (Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

According to Niche, these are the best school districts in the region, listed by their state ranking. Those that finished in the top 100 are listed. The area’s largest district, the Pittsburgh Public Schools, was not among the 262 Pennsylvania districts that were ranked numerically of the overall 499.

3. North Allegheny
6. Fox Chapel
7. Mt. Lebanon
8. Upper St. Clair
14. Quaker Valley
17. Hampton
28. South Fayette
38. North Hills
52. Peters
53. Bethel Park
57. Pine-Richland
58. Moon Area
67. Franklin Regional
74. Montour
77. Seneca Valley
79. Baldwin-Whitehall
93. Keystone Oaks
95. Mars
100. Gateway.

Niche’s data comes for its K-12 school district rankings comes from various sources including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection. The rankings also rely on data that is self-reported by Niche users and schools. (Click here to learn more about where Niche’s data comes from.)

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below.

Photo by Michelle TeGrootenhuis via Creative Commons.