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What's something Nitschmann MS does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
731
Middle
DISTRICT 733 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BETHLEHEM AREA SD·NCES 420357003463
Nitschmann Middle School
1002 W. Union Blvd, Bethlehem, PA 18018 · (610) 866-5781 · Lehigh County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL731 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.5:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
357 students
DISTRICT 64% · 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 | 240 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 234 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 257 | 35% |
Student demographics
61%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
45.1%
PA avg 51.1% . -6.6pp since 2023
Math
33.8%
PA avg 43.0% . +1.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 34 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 45.1% | 33.8% |
| 2023-24 | 51.7% | 32.7% |
% 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
42.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 →
Where Nitschmann Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Lehigh County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.5% | #316 of 479 | #9 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 33.8% | #285 of 513 | #8 of 17 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.1% | #335 of 513 | #11 of 17 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 731 | #157 of 522 | #9 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #264 of 486 | #8 of 17 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.1% | #74 of 486 | #6 of 17 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 48.8% | #270 of 510 | #10 of 17 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.5% | #182 of 332 | #4 of 11 |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
731
-13 (-2%) vs 2020
+14% since 1990-91, when it was 640
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 14.6:1
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 | 731 | 55.5 | 13.2:1 | 49% (357) |
| 2023-24 | 735 | 54.6 | 13.5:1 | 49% (357) |
| 2022-23 | 781 | 56 | 13.9:1 | 49% (379) |
| 2020-21 | 744 | 51 | 14.6:1 | 46% (342) |
| 2017-18 | 808 | 53 | 15.3:1 | 44% (356) |
| 2015-16 | 773 | 54 | 14.3:1 | 42% (322) |
| 2010-11 | 904 | 58 | 15.6:1 | 32% (286) |
| 2000-01 | 830 | 57 | 14.6:1 | 22% (185) |
| 1990-91 | 640 | 43 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Nitschmann Middle School.
About Nitschmann Middle School
At 1002 W. Union Blvd in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Nitschmann Middle School operates as a medium-sized middle school. The school's enrollment of 731 students covers grades 6 through 8. Enrollment is 23% higher than the average for middle schools in Pennsylvania, which is about 594.
Bethlehem Area SD has 22 schools and 12,717 students, and Nitschmann Middle School is one of those schools.
Nitschmann Middle School's enrollment is 52% White. Other groups include 33% Hispanic, 10% Black, 3% multiracial, and 3% Asian. By comparison, Lehigh County residents are about 62% White. By the diversity index, Nitschmann Middle School comes in at 61%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 13.2:1, with 55.5 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. Middle schools in Pennsylvania average about 13.2:1, a similar figure. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 49%. Across public schools in Lehigh County, the average is 70%.
After adjusting for student poverty, Nitschmann Middle School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 42.5%; the prediction is 56.7%.
County data help place the school in context: in Lehigh County, median household income is about $80,079, roughly 34% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. The public schools of Lehigh County number 83 and enroll about 56,984.
The next-closest public school is Calypso Elementary School, about 0.6 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Nitschmann Middle School. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Nitschmann Middle School ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
The federal government classifies Nitschmann Middle School's location as City: Small.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (744) and 2024-25 (731). There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (13.2:1) than in 2020-21 (14.6:1).
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Lehigh County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
378,792
Census ACS
Median income
$80,079
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
56,984 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bethlehem Area SD
- Liberty High SchoolHigh · 2,541 students
- Freedom High SchoolHigh · 1,792 students
- East Hills Middle SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- Northeast Middle SchoolMiddle · 715 students
- Spring Garden Elementary SchoolElementary · 532 students
- Fountain Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 530 students
Other schools in Bethlehem
- Liberty High SchoolHigh · 2,541 students
- Lehigh Valley Academy Regional CSCombined · 1,878 students
- Freedom High SchoolHigh · 1,792 students
- East Hills Middle SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- Northeast Middle SchoolMiddle · 715 students
- Southern Lehigh Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 702 students
Nearby schools
- Calypso Elementary School0.6 mi · 222
- William Penn Elementary School0.9 mi · 242
- James Buchanan Elementary School0.9 mi · 253
- Clearview Elementary School1.3 mi · 384
- Liberty High School1.4 mi · 2,541
- Sonia Sotomayor Dual Lang Immersion Academy1.5 mi · 112
Frequently asked questions
About Nitschmann Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Nitschmann Middle School?
Nitschmann Middle School enrolls approximately 731 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Nitschmann Middle School serve?
Nitschmann Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Nitschmann Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Nitschmann Middle School is approximately 13.2:1 (56 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Nitschmann Middle School?
Nitschmann Middle School reports a student body of 52% White, 33% Hispanic, 10% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Nitschmann Middle School?
Nitschmann Middle School is overseen by Bethlehem Area SD in Lehigh County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.