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Alumni: what's one memory from Black Rock MS that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,077
Middle
DISTRICT 886 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOWER MERION SD·NCES 421416010025
Black Rock Middle School
1860 W Montgomery Ave, Villanova, PA 19085 · (484) 418-2222 · Montgomery County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,077 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% of Pennsylvania public middle schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Pennsylvania public middle schools
Student : Teacher
10.1:1
107 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.0:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
162 students
DISTRICT 16% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 272 | 25% |
| Grade 6 | 270 | 25% |
| Grade 7 | 268 | 25% |
| Grade 8 | 267 | 25% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 59% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
83.7%
PA avg 51.1% . -2.4pp since 2023
Math
81.9%
PA avg 43.0% . +0.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 84 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 82 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 83.7% | 81.9% |
| 2023-24 | 86.1% | 81.9% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
83.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.2%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 83% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Pennsylvania's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Black Rock Middle School
Black Rock Middle School's state test result (83.5% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Rock Middle School this school | 1,077 | 15.0% | 83.5% |
| Sandy Run Middle School Dresher | 962 | 18.3% | 68.9% |
| Welsh Valley Middle School Narberth | 788 | 17.6% | 80.3% |
| Strath Haven Middle School Wallingford | 868 | 16.9% | 70.5% |
| Bala-Cynwyd Middle School Bala Cynwyd | 794 | 15.1% | 80.2% |
| E N Peirce Middle School West Chester | 1,040 | 19.0% | 56.2% |
Matched among Pennsylvania middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Black Rock Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 83.5% | #2 of 479 | #1 of 33 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 81.9% | #2 of 513 ▼ 1 | #1 of 33 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 83.7% | #7 of 513 ▼ 3 | #1 of 33 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,077 | #34 of 522 | #7 of 34 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.1:1 | #26 of 486 | #4 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.5% | #101 of 486 | #15 of 34 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 15.0% | #486 of 510 | #33 of 33 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,077 | 106.7 | 10.1:1 | 15% (162) |
| 2023-24 | 1,030 | 106.7 | 9.7:1 | 16% (162) |
| 2022-23 | 1,032 | 101.2 | 10.2:1 | 13% (132) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Black Rock Middle School.
About Black Rock Middle School
Black Rock Middle School is classified as a middle-grades school. It is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Students in grades 5 through 8 attend the school, which enrolls 1,077 students. The average among middle schools in Pennsylvania is roughly 594 students; this school is 81% larger than that.
Black Rock Middle School is one school in Lower Merion SD, a system of 11 schools with 8,533 students.
At Black Rock Middle School, White students make up 62% of the student body. The remaining shares are 11% Asian, 11% Black, 10% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. Montgomery County as a whole is about 73% White, so the school's share is lower. Black Rock Middle School's diversity index is 57%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school reported 106.7 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 10.1:1. That is 3.1 students per teacher below the 13.2:1 average for middle schools in Pennsylvania. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 15%. The average for public schools in Montgomery County is 40%.
Measured against Pennsylvania public middle schools, Black Rock Middle School receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Black Rock Middle School is 12.3 points above its prediction. Actual: 83.5%. Predicted: 71.2%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Montgomery County, the median household income is $113,915, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 53%, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Black Rock Middle School is one of 160 public schools in the county.
The closest public school to Black Rock Middle School is Radnor Elementary School, about 1.1 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. On proficiency, Black Rock Middle School is ahead of the 78.1% nearby average, ranking 5th of 9.
By NCES locale, the school is Suburb: Large, or in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Black Rock Middle School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Montgomery County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
867,573
Census ACS
Median income
$113,915
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
53%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
160
115,302 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lower Merion SD
- Lower Merion High SchoolHigh · 1,674 students
- Harriton SHSHigh · 1,239 students
- Bala-Cynwyd Middle SchoolMiddle · 794 students
- Welsh Valley Middle SchoolMiddle · 788 students
- Penn Wynne SchoolElementary · 621 students
- Gladwyne SchoolElementary · 556 students
Nearby schools
- Radnor Elementary School1.1 mi · 554
- Radnor SHS1.2 mi · 1,146
- Harriton SHS1.3 mi · 1,239
- Gulph Elementary School2.2 mi · 440
- Radnor Middle School2.5 mi · 808
- Conshohocken Elementary School2.7 mi · 247
Frequently asked questions
About Black Rock Middle SchoolHow large is Black Rock Middle School?
Black Rock Middle School enrolls approximately 1,077 students in grades 05-08.
What age range does Black Rock Middle School serve?
Black Rock Middle School serves students from grade 05 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Black Rock Middle School have?
Black Rock Middle School employs 107 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 10.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Black Rock Middle School?
Student demographics at Black Rock Middle School are roughly 62% White, 6% Hispanic, 11% Black, 11% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Who oversees Black Rock Middle School?
Black Rock Middle School is overseen by Lower Merion SD in Montgomery County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.