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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Jim Thorpe Area HS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
490
High
DISTRICT 549 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JIM THORPE AREA SD·NCES 421254001307
Jim Thorpe Area High School
1 Olympian Way, Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 · (570) 325-3663 · Carbon County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL490 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 68% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+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
13.8:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.1:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
301 students
DISTRICT 63% · 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 | 123 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 126 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 117 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 124 | 25% |
Student demographics
43%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 39% · 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
Based on grade levels within Jim Thorpe Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
68.2%
PA avg 51.1% . -0.8pp since 2023
Math
50.5%
PA avg 43.0% . +2.3pp 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 51 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 2 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.2% | 50.5% |
| 2023-24 | 69.0% | 48.2% |
% 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
55.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.3%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% 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 Jim Thorpe Area High School
Jim Thorpe Area High School's state test result (55.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Thorpe Area High School this school | 490 | 61.4% | 55.9% |
| Juniata SHS Mifflintown | 485 | 57.9% | 51.7% |
| Tamaqua Area SHS Tamaqua | 613 | 57.4% | 54.5% |
| Pequea Valley High School Kinzers | 451 | 55.0% | 53.1% |
| Carbondale Area JSHS Carbondale | 736 | 65.9% | 29.8% |
| Milton High School Milton | 608 | 52.5% | 57.5% |
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 Jim Thorpe Area High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Carbon County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.9% | #218 of 576 | #3 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 50.5% | #195 of 626 ▼ 4 | #3 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.2% | #185 of 626 ▲ 11 | #3 of 6 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 490 | #416 of 713 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #293 of 601 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.6% | #204 of 604 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.4% | #278 of 619 | #3 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.1% | #88 of 373 | N/A |
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
490
-88 (-15%) vs 2020
+26% since 1990-91, when it was 390
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 13.8:1
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 | 490 | 35.4 | 13.8:1 | 61% (301) |
| 2023-24 | 529 | 40.9 | 12.9:1 | 57% (301) |
| 2022-23 | 565 | 40.9 | 13.8:1 | 45% (254) |
| 2020-21 | 578 | 42 | 13.8:1 | 48% (275) |
| 2017-18 | 584 | 43.4 | 13.5:1 | 48% (280) |
| 2015-16 | 587 | 43 | 13.7:1 | 52% (304) |
| 2010-11 | 641 | 47 | 13.6:1 | 40% (257) |
| 2000-01 | 433 | 35 | 12.4:1 | 15% (66) |
| 1990-91 | 390 | 28 | 13.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jim Thorpe Area High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (584 to 490); teachers down 18% (43.4 to 35.4).
About Jim Thorpe Area High School
Jim Thorpe Area High School is a small high school in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, (ZIP code 18229). A total of 490 students attend the school, which covers grades 9 through 12. The average for high schools in Pennsylvania is about 738 students, so this school is 34% smaller than average.
Jim Thorpe Area SD has 3 schools; together they serve 1,646 students.
A majority of students at Jim Thorpe Area High School, 74%, are White. Beyond that, enrollment is 14% Hispanic, 7% Black, and 4% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 89%. By the diversity index, Jim Thorpe Area High School comes in at 43%.
Jim Thorpe Area High School counts 35.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 13.8 students for each one. Among high schools in Pennsylvania, the typical ratio is 12.8:1. About 61% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch.
Measured against Pennsylvania public high schools, Jim Thorpe Area High School receives a B+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Test results at Jim Thorpe Area High School are 4.6 points above what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (55.9% actual, 51.3% predicted).
Federal survey data for Carbon County show that median household income is about $67,554, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 8%. A total of 18 public schools operate in Carbon County, serving about 8,111 students.
The closest public school to Jim Thorpe Area High School is L B Morris Elementary School, about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles of Jim Thorpe Area High School, there are 6 other public schools. On proficiency, Jim Thorpe Area High School is ahead of the 46.0% nearby average, ranking 2nd of 8.
Jim Thorpe Area High School is coded as Rural: Fringe in federal locale data.
Federal counts put enrollment at 578 in 2020-21 and 490 in 2024-25, a 15% decrease.
Discussions about Jim Thorpe Area High School may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Carbon County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
65,382
Census ACS
Median income
$67,554
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
18
8,111 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jim Thorpe Area SD
- L B Morris Elementary SchoolElementary · 615 students
- Penn-Kidder CampusElementary · 541 students
Other schools in Jim Thorpe
- L B Morris Elementary SchoolElementary · 615 students
- Carbon Career & Technical InstituteHigh · 375 students
Nearby schools
- L B Morris Elementary School0.4 mi · 615
- Carbon Career & Technical Institute0.4 mi · 375
- Lehighton Area Middle School3.1 mi · 478
- Lehighton Area Elementary Center3.5 mi · 1,005
- Lehighton Area High School3.6 mi · 630
- Panther Valley Elementary School4.7 mi · 556
Frequently asked questions
About Jim Thorpe Area High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Jim Thorpe Area High School?
Jim Thorpe Area High School enrolls approximately 490 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Jim Thorpe Area High School serve?
Jim Thorpe Area High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Jim Thorpe Area High School?
Approximately 13.8:1 students per teacher at Jim Thorpe Area High School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Jim Thorpe Area High School?
At Jim Thorpe Area High School, the student body is approximately 74% White, 14% Hispanic, 7% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Jim Thorpe Area High School in?
Jim Thorpe Area High School is part of Jim Thorpe Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.