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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Northwest El Sch?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
404
Elementary
DISTRICT 359 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BUTLER AREA SD·NCES 420459001142
Northwest Elementary School
124 Staley Avenue, Butler, PA 16001 · (724) 287-8721 · Butler County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL404 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 95% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- A-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.1:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
104%
420 students
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 59 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 67 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 77 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 68 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 76 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (59) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (76).
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 16% · 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
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Butler Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
72.7%
PA avg 51.1% . -5.0pp since 2023
Math
69.5%
PA avg 43.0% . +8.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 70 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 72.7% | 69.5% |
| 2023-24 | 77.7% | 61.4% |
% 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
72.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.0%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+39.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 73% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 33% 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 40 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 →
Where Northwest Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Butler County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.7% | #244 of 1,396 | #3 of 19 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.5% | #281 of 1,511 ▲ 177 | #5 of 19 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.7% | #168 of 1,511 ▼ 5 | #1 of 19 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 404 | #865 of 1,638 | #14 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #1,011 of 1,528 | #12 of 20 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.3% | #1,376 of 1,531 | #10 of 20 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 104% | #151 of 1,600 | #1 of 20 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +20.6% | #85 of 450 | #4 of 10 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
404
+92 (+29%) vs 2020
-17% since 1990-91, when it was 485
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 12.5:1
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 | 404 | 29.3 | 13.8:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 425 | 28.3 | 15.0:1 | 99% (420) |
| 2022-23 | 403 | 29.9 | 13.5:1 | 49% (197) |
| 2020-21 | 312 | 25 | 12.5:1 | 47% (146) |
| 2017-18 | 335 | 22.8 | 14.7:1 | 36% (121) |
| 2015-16 | 367 | 27 | 13.6:1 | 33% (121) |
| 2010-11 | 418 | 28 | 14.9:1 | 30% (126) |
| 2000-01 | 475 | 28 | 17.0:1 | 25% (118) |
| 1990-91 | 485 | 20 | 24.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwest Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 21% (335 to 404); teachers up 29% (22.8 to 29.3).
About Northwest Elementary School
Northwest Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school located in Butler, Pennsylvania. School enrollment was 404 students in 2024-25, in kindergarten through 5.
Butler Area SD is made up of 9 schools with 5,762 students in all.
The large majority of students at Northwest Elementary School, 94%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 3% multiracial and 2% Hispanic. That is close to the 93% White share among all Butler County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Northwest Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 12%.
The school has about 13.8 students per teacher and 29.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Pennsylvania is 13.1:1, lower than at this school.
Northwest Elementary School is graded A+ by allk12, scoring above 95% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On allk12's BeatsExpectations measure, Northwest Elementary School is among the top 10% of schools in Pennsylvania. Predicted: 33.0%. Actual: 72.7%.
Butler County census figures show that median household income is about $89,843, about 39% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 5%. A total of 39 public schools operate in Butler County, serving about 24,616 students.
Nearest public school: Butler County Area Vocational Technical School, about 1.1 miles away. The five-mile area around Northwest Elementary School holds at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools average 50.4% on proficiency, and Northwest Elementary School is above that at 72.7%.
The federal government classifies Northwest Elementary School's location as Town: Fringe.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Northwest Elementary School went from 312 students to 404. The ratio was 12.5:1 in 2020-21 and 13.8:1 in 2024-25.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Northwest Elementary School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Butler County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
197,254
Census ACS
Median income
$89,843
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
39
24,616 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Butler Area SD
- Butler Area SHSHigh · 1,956 students
- Butler Area IHSMiddle · 1,291 students
- Center Township Elementary SchoolElementary · 584 students
- McQuistion Elementary SchoolElementary · 498 students
- Connoquenessing Elementary SchoolElementary · 287 students
- Summit Township Elementary SchoolElementary · 259 students
Other schools in Butler
- Butler Area SHSHigh · 1,956 students
- Butler Area IHSMiddle · 1,291 students
- Center Township Elementary SchoolElementary · 584 students
- McQuistion Elementary SchoolElementary · 498 students
- Summit Township Elementary SchoolElementary · 259 students
- Emily Brittain Elementary SchoolElementary · 255 students
Other Northwest Elementary schools
28 other US public schools in 18 states are named Northwest Elementary. Northwest Elementary School is the 22nd largest of the 29.
- Northwest Elementary SchoolLebanon, PA · 557 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolReading, PA · 496 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolTulsa, OK · 959 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolJACKSON, MI · 758 students
- NORTHWEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLTAMPA, FL · 658 students
Nearby schools
- Butler County Area Vocational Technical School1.1 mi · 26
- Butler Area SHS1.1 mi · 1,956
- Butler Area IHS1.3 mi · 1,291
- Broad Street Elementary School1.9 mi · 228
- Emily Brittain Elementary School2.1 mi · 255
- Center Township Elementary School2.7 mi · 584
Frequently asked questions
About Northwest Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Northwest Elementary School?
Northwest Elementary School enrolls approximately 404 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Northwest Elementary School serve?
Northwest Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Northwest Elementary School?
Approximately 13.8:1 students per teacher at Northwest Elementary School.
What is the student diversity at Northwest Elementary School?
Student demographics at Northwest Elementary School are roughly 94% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Northwest Elementary School in?
Northwest Elementary School is part of Butler Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.