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Welcome to the Lower Merion HS community. What's one thing that would make Lower Merion HS even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,674
High
DISTRICT 1,457 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOWER MERION SD·NCES 421416003295
Lower Merion High School
315 E Montgomery Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003 · (610) 645-1810 · Montgomery County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,674 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 98% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
11.6:1
145 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.1:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
367 students
DISTRICT 16% · 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 | 367 | 22% |
| Grade 10 | 441 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 409 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 457 | 27% |
Student demographics
58%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
94.9%
PA avg 51.1% . +4.5pp since 2023
Math
84.0%
PA avg 43.0% . +3.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 95 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 84 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 94.9% | 84.0% |
| 2023-24 | 90.4% | 80.1% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of PA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
86.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
68.2%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+18.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 87% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 68% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 19 points, placing it in Pennsylvania's top 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 Lower Merion High School
Lower Merion High School's state test result (86.9% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Merion High School this school | 1,674 | 21.9% | 86.9% |
| Upper Dublin High School Fort Washington | 1,272 | 20.4% | 68.0% |
| Methacton High School Eagleville | 1,499 | 22.1% | 65.1% |
| Strath Haven High School Wallingford | 1,175 | 20.7% | 77.0% |
| Harriton SHS Rosemont | 1,239 | 15.6% | 86.0% |
| Springfield High School Springfield | 1,434 | 24.5% | 82.3% |
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 Lower Merion High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 86.9% | #5 of 576 | #1 of 23 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 84.0% | #8 of 626 ▲ 3 | #1 of 23 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 94.9% | #3 of 626 ▲ 15 | #1 of 23 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,674 | #59 of 713 | #6 of 28 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.6:1 | #97 of 601 | #3 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.2% | #98 of 604 | #9 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 21.9% | #580 of 619 | #20 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +13.4% | #66 of 221 | #6 of 16 |
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
1,674
+106 (+7%) vs 2020
+66% since 1990-91, when it was 1,008
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
was 12.4:1
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 | 1,674 | 144.8 | 11.6:1 | 22% (367) |
| 2023-24 | 1,757 | 147.6 | 11.9:1 | 21% (367) |
| 2022-23 | 1,712 | 140.6 | 12.2:1 | 17% (298) |
| 2020-21 | 1,568 | 126 | 12.4:1 | 15% (236) |
| 2017-18 | 1,476 | 120.4 | 12.3:1 | 13% (189) |
| 2015-16 | 1,440 | 118 | 12.2:1 | 14% (201) |
| 2010-11 | 1,323 | 122 | 10.8:1 | 7% (96) |
| 2000-01 | 1,287 | 96 | 13.4:1 | 5% (70) |
| 1990-91 | 1,008 | 83 | 12.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Lower Merion High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 13% (1,476 to 1,674); teachers up 20% (120.4 to 144.8).
About Lower Merion High School
Lower Merion High School is a high-enrollment high school that serves part of Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Enrolled students number 1,674 students, in grades 9 through 12. Statewide, high schools in Pennsylvania average about 738 students each.
Lower Merion High School is part of Lower Merion SD, where 11 schools serve 8,533 students.
A majority of students at Lower Merion High School, 62%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 13% Black, 11% Asian, 8% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. Among all residents of Montgomery County, the White share is about 73%. The chance that two students picked at random at Lower Merion High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 58%.
Teacher staffing is 144.8 full-time equivalents, or about 11.6 students per teacher. Among high schools in Pennsylvania, the typical ratio is 12.8:1. About 22% of students, or 367, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Montgomery County, the average eligibility rate is 40%.
Lower Merion High School is graded A+ by allk12, scoring above 98% of Pennsylvania public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Lower Merion High School is +18.7 points, in the top 10% of Pennsylvania. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 86.9%, and the predicted rate is 68.2%.
Census Bureau estimates for Montgomery County show that median household income is about $113,915, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 53% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. Lower Merion High School is one of 160 public schools in Montgomery County, which together enroll about 115,302 students.
Nearest public school: Penn Valley School, about 1.1 miles away. The five-mile area around Lower Merion High School holds at least 8 other public schools. Lower Merion High School ranks 3rd of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 86.9% against a local average of 83.3%.
Lower Merion High School is coded as Suburb: Large in federal locale data.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Lower Merion High School went from 1,568 students to 1,674.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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
- Harriton SHSHigh · 1,239 students
- Black Rock Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,077 students
- Bala-Cynwyd Middle SchoolMiddle · 794 students
- Welsh Valley Middle SchoolMiddle · 788 students
- Penn Wynne SchoolElementary · 621 students
- Gladwyne SchoolElementary · 556 students
Nearby schools
- Penn Valley School1.1 mi · 542
- Merion Elementary School1.4 mi · 438
- Chestnutwold Elementary School1.4 mi · 566
- Penn Wynne School1.6 mi · 621
- Gladwyne School1.6 mi · 556
- Welsh Valley Middle School1.8 mi · 788
Frequently asked questions
About Lower Merion High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Lower Merion High School?
Lower Merion High School enrolls approximately 1,674 students in grades 09-12.
Is Lower Merion High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Lower Merion High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lower Merion High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Lower Merion High School is approximately 11.6:1 (145 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Lower Merion High School?
Student demographics at Lower Merion High School are roughly 62% White, 6% Hispanic, 13% Black, 11% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Lower Merion High School public or private?
Lower Merion High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Lower Merion SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.