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What clubs or activities at G A R MS are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,101
Middle
DISTRICT 930 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WILKES-BARRE AREA SD·NCES 422630003008
G A R Middle School
250 South Grant Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 · (570) 826-7165 · Luzerne County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,101 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of Pennsylvania public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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
21.1:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.9:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
1,066 students
DISTRICT 97% · 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 6 | 368 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 356 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 377 | 34% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
28.3%
PA avg 51.1% . +0.0pp since 2023
Math
9.6%
PA avg 43.0% . +1.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 28 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 28.3% | 9.6% |
| 2023-24 | 28.3% | 8.2% |
% 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
19.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.1%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 20% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% 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 G A R Middle School
G A R Middle School's state test result (19.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| G A R Middle School this school | 1,101 | 96.8% | 19.8% |
| Muhlenberg Jr High School Reading | 1,016 | 99.0% | 27.5% |
| C E Cole Intermediate School Reading | 986 | 96.3% | 28.9% |
| South Mountain Middle School Allentown | 972 | 99.4% | 17.1% |
| South Scranton Intrmd School Scranton | 798 | 97.9% | 18.4% |
| Harrison-Morton Middle School Allentown | 704 | 94.7% | 12.6% |
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 G A R Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Luzerne County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.8% | #449 of 479 | #10 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 9.6% | #470 of 513 ▲ 9 | #9 of 11 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.3% | #455 of 513 ▲ 15 | #8 of 11 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,101 | #30 of 522 | #2 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.1:1 | #483 of 486 | #10 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.3% | #105 of 486 | #4 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.8% | #120 of 510 | #7 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +17.5% | #31 of 131 | N/A |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,101
+122 (+12%) vs 2020
+62% since 1990-91, when it was 679
Student : Teacher
21.1:1
was 17.2:1
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 | 1,101 | 52.2 | 21.1:1 | 97% (1,066) |
| 2023-24 | 1,066 | 53.4 | 20.0:1 | 100% (1,066) |
| 2022-23 | 1,026 | 59.2 | 17.3:1 | 100% (1,026) |
| 2020-21 | 979 | 57 | 17.2:1 | 89% (876) |
| 2017-18 | 937 | 60.3 | 15.5:1 | 88% (824) |
| 2015-16 | 849 | 66 | 12.9:1 | 100% (849) |
| 2010-11 | 894 | 68 | 13.2:1 | 73% (655) |
| 2000-01 | 885 | 64 | 13.8:1 | 24% (208) |
| 1990-91 | 679 | 57 | 11.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for G A R Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 18% (937 to 1,101); teachers down 13% (60.3 to 52.2).
About G A R Middle School
In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, G A R Middle School is a large middle school. Students in grades 6 through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 1,101 students. Middle schools in Pennsylvania have about 594 students on average; enrollment here is 85% higher.
Wilkes-Barre Area SD counts 8,277 students in its 10 schools, and G A R Middle School is one of them.
The student body at G A R Middle School is 61% Hispanic. Beyond that, enrollment is 20% Black, 13% White, and 6% multiracial. The Hispanic share of the county population is lower, at 17%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 57%.
The school lists 52.2 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.1:1. The average for middle schools in Pennsylvania, 13.2:1, is lower. A total of 1,066 students, or 97%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 85% average for public schools in Luzerne County, the school's rate is higher.
Among Pennsylvania public middle schools, G A R Middle School outscored 9%, which works out to a D on the allk12 Grade.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for G A R Middle School is -16.3 points: 19.8% actual, 36.1% predicted.
The school is in Luzerne County, where the median household earns about $63,691 a year, about 25% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 11%. G A R Middle School shares Luzerne County with 64 other public schools.
Heights/Murray Elementary School is about 0.5 miles from G A R Middle School, the shortest distance to any other public school. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. G A R Middle School comes in 7th of 7 nearby schools on average proficiency.
G A R Middle School is coded as City: Small in federal locale data.
Enrollment figures show a rise of 122 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The number of students per teacher increased from 17.2 to 21.1 over 4 years.
Use the discussion section to ask about special education services, counseling, and support programs at G A R Middle School. You can also rate the school on this page.
Luzerne County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
327,675
Census ACS
Median income
$63,691
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
65
45,209 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wilkes-Barre Area SD
- Wilkes-Barre Area High SchoolHigh · 2,569 students
- Dr David W Kistler Elementary SchoolElementary · 961 students
- Heights/Murray Elementary SchoolElementary · 838 students
- Solomon/Plains Middle SchoolMiddle · 758 students
- Solomon/Plains Elementary SchoolElementary · 718 students
- Daniel J Flood Elementary SchoolElementary · 616 students
Other schools in Wilkes-Barre
- Wolfpack Early Learning AcademyElementary · 101 students
- Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical CenterHigh · 30 students
Nearby schools
- Heights/Murray Elementary School0.5 mi · 838
- Wolfpack Early Learning Academy0.6 mi · 101
- Dodson Elementary School1.2 mi · 522
- Dr David W Kistler Elementary School1.5 mi · 961
- Third Avenue Elementary School1.6 mi · 97
- Daniel J Flood Elementary School1.6 mi · 616
Frequently asked questions
About G A R Middle SchoolHow large is G A R Middle School?
G A R Middle School enrolls approximately 1,101 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does G A R Middle School serve?
G A R Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does G A R Middle School have?
G A R Middle School employs 52 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.1:1.
What is the student diversity at G A R Middle School?
Student demographics at G A R Middle School are roughly 13% White, 61% Hispanic, 20% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees G A R Middle School?
G A R Middle School is overseen by Wilkes-Barre Area SD in Luzerne County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.