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What's one thing Derry Area SHS gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
598
High
DISTRICT 597 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DERRY AREA SD·NCES 420756004352
Derry Area SHS
988 North Chestnut St Ext, Derry, PA 15627 · (724) 694-2780 · Westmoreland County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL598 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 60% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- C+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 high schools
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
588 students
DISTRICT 98% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 141 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 159 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 141 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 157 | 26% |
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 15% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Derry Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
68.1%
PA avg 51.1% . -8.4pp since 2023
Math
35.0%
PA avg 43.0% . +20.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 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 8 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 20 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.1% | 35.0% |
| 2023-24 | 76.5% | 14.8% |
% 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
47.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.5%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% 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 Derry Area SHS
Derry Area SHS's state test result (47.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derry Area SHS this school | 598 | 98.3% | 47.1% |
| Connellsville Area Career & Technical Center Connellsville | 592 | 98.8% | 22.3% |
| Wyalusing Valley JSHS Wyalusing | 586 | 98.8% | 47.6% |
| Oil City SHS Oil City | 611 | 100.0% | 46.0% |
| Warren Area High School Warren | 704 | 98.4% | 54.5% |
| Jefferson County-DuBois Area Vocational-Technical School Reynoldsville | 587 | 95.4% | 24.4% |
Matched among Pennsylvania high 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 Derry Area SHS ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Westmoreland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.1% | #346 of 576 | #11 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #350 of 626 ▲ 174 | #12 of 18 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.1% | #187 of 626 ▼ 73 | #8 of 18 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 598 | #336 of 713 | #10 of 22 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #236 of 601 | #4 of 16 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.1% | #485 of 604 | #14 of 17 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.3% | #174 of 619 | #3 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.0% | #356 of 373 | #13 of 14 |
Ranked against other public high 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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
598
+25 (+4%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 729
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 14.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 598 | 45.4 | 13.2:1 | 98% (588) |
| 2023-24 | 588 | 50.7 | 11.6:1 | 100% (588) |
| 2022-23 | 581 | 49.6 | 11.7:1 | 73% (426) |
| 2020-21 | 573 | 39 | 14.7:1 | 26% (148) |
| 2017-18 | 604 | 41.9 | 14.4:1 | 29% (174) |
| 2015-16 | 682 | 48 | 14.2:1 | 39% (264) |
| 2010-11 | 789 | 52 | 15.2:1 | 34% (272) |
| 2000-01 | 908 | 51 | 17.8:1 | 68% (619) |
| 1990-91 | 729 | 46 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Derry Area SHS.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (604 to 598); teachers up 8% (41.9 to 45.4).
About Derry Area SHS
Students in Derry, Pennsylvania, attend Derry Area SHS, a small high school. It is open to students in grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 598 students.
Derry Area SD enrolls 1,791 students, and its 3 schools include Derry Area SHS.
A large majority of enrollment at Derry Area SHS is White, at 94%. Beyond that, enrollment is 4% multiracial. Among Westmoreland County residents, the White share is about 92%. The diversity index for Derry Area SHS is 12%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
With 45.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 13.2:1. The average for high schools in Pennsylvania is about 12.8:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Derry Area SHS, 98% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 53% average among public schools in Westmoreland County.
Derry Area SHS earns a B on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 60% of Pennsylvania public high schools.
Derry Area SHS posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 47.1%, compared with a predicted 35.5%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools on BeatsExpectations.
The school's county is Westmoreland County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $74,109 a year, roughly 33% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Derry Area SHS shares Westmoreland County with 84 other public schools.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Derry Area Middle School, is less than a tenth of a mile. Within five miles are 5 other public schools. Derry Area SHS is 7th of 8 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment rose 4%. The ratio of students to teachers went from 14.7:1 to 13.2:1 over the same years.
Derry Area SHS has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
Westmoreland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
352,500
Census ACS
Median income
$74,109
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
85
41,302 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Derry Area SD
- Grandview Elementary SchoolElementary · 753 students
- Derry Area Middle SchoolMiddle · 440 students
Other schools in Derry
- Grandview Elementary SchoolElementary · 753 students
- Derry Area Middle SchoolMiddle · 440 students
Nearby schools
- Derry Area Middle School0.1 mi · 440
- Grandview Elementary School0.3 mi · 753
- Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center3.2 mi · 6
- Latrobe Elementary School4.0 mi · 627
- Dr Robert Ketterer CS Inc4.8 mi · 127
- Greater Latrobe Junior High School5.3 mi · 499
Frequently asked questions
About Derry Area SHSHow many students attend Derry Area SHS?
Derry Area SHS enrolls approximately 598 students in grades 09-12.
Is Derry Area SHS an elementary, middle, or high school?
Derry Area SHS is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Derry Area SHS?
Approximately 13.2:1 students per teacher at Derry Area SHS.
How diverse is Derry Area SHS?
Derry Area SHS reports a student body of 94% White, 1% Hispanic, 1% Black, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Derry Area SHS?
Derry Area SHS is overseen by Derry Area SD in Westmoreland County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.