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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Shafer El Sch?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
559
Elementary
DISTRICT 583 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NAZARETH AREA SD·NCES 421638003493
Shafer Elementary School
49 S Liberty St, Nazareth, PA 18064 · (610) 759-5228 · Northampton County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL559 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 70% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
13.3:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
43%
238 students
DISTRICT 29% · 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 | 108 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 109 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 99 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 144 | 26% |
| Grade 4 | 99 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (108) is 9% larger than its 4th grade class (99).
Student demographics
43%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 40% · 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
Shafer Elementary School→Nazareth Area Intermediate School→Nazareth Area Middle School→Nazareth Area High School
Based on grade levels within Nazareth Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
61.2%
PA avg 51.1% . +0.0pp since 2023
Math
70.5%
PA avg 43.0% . +12.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 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 12 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.2% | 70.5% |
| 2023-24 | 61.2% | 58.5% |
% 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
66.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.4%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% 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 Shafer Elementary School
Shafer Elementary School's state test result (66.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shafer Elementary School this school | 559 | 42.6% | 66.3% |
| Delaware Valley Elementary School Matamoras | 486 | 45.7% | 59.6% |
| Crooked Billet Elementary School Hatboro | 468 | 42.1% | 52.9% |
| Donegal Primary School Mount Joy | 559 | 49.0% | N/A |
| Willow Creek Elementary School Fleetwood | 564 | 39.7% | 49.8% |
| Schnecksville School Schnecksville | 465 | 39.4% | 68.8% |
Matched among Pennsylvania elementary 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 Shafer Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Northampton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.3% | #406 of 1,396 | #6 of 34 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.5% | #266 of 1,511 ▲ 255 | #4 of 34 ▲ 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.2% | #395 of 1,511 ▲ 195 | #7 of 34 ▲ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 559 | #357 of 1,638 | #9 of 35 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.3:1 | #860 of 1,528 | #25 of 35 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.7% | #700 of 1,531 | #23 of 35 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.6% | #1,117 of 1,600 | #27 of 35 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.0% | #696 of 1,045 | #19 of 25 |
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
559
+2 (+0%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 650
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 15.5:1
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 | 559 | 42 | 13.3:1 | 43% (238) |
| 2023-24 | 575 | 39.5 | 14.6:1 | 41% (238) |
| 2022-23 | 558 | 39.5 | 14.1:1 | 35% (196) |
| 2020-21 | 557 | 36 | 15.5:1 | 30% (165) |
| 2017-18 | 614 | 40.3 | 15.2:1 | 25% (156) |
| 2015-16 | 592 | 39 | 15.2:1 | 21% (124) |
| 2010-11 | 568 | 32 | 17.8:1 | 13% (72) |
| 2000-01 | 735 | 41 | 17.9:1 | 9% (69) |
| 1990-91 | 650 | 31 | 21.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Shafer Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (614 to 559); teachers up 4% (40.3 to 42).
About Shafer Elementary School
Shafer Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Its 559 students are spread across kindergarten through 4. The typical figure for elementary schools in Pennsylvania is about 443 students.
Nazareth Area SD is made up of 6 schools with 4,884 students in all.
White students are the majority at Shafer Elementary School, with 74% of enrollment. The school is also 16% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, and 3% Asian. That is close to the 74% White share among all Northampton County residents. The school's diversity index is 43%, meaning two students picked at random have a 43% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Shafer Elementary School employs 42 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 13.3:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Pennsylvania average 13.1:1. Shafer Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 43%. That is lower than the 61% average for public schools in Northampton County.
Measured against Pennsylvania public elementary schools, Shafer Elementary 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.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Shafer Elementary School is +7.0 points: 66.3% actual, 59.4% predicted.
Census estimates describe Northampton County this way: the median household income is $89,184, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 35% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. In all, Northampton County has 60 public schools and roughly 38,316 students.
Nazareth Area High School is the closest public school, about 0.2 miles away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Shafer Elementary School comes in 3rd of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (557) and 2024-25 (559). The school's ratio fell from 15.5:1 to 13.3:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Parents and students can post about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Shafer Elementary School. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Northampton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
318,580
Census ACS
Median income
$89,184
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
60
38,316 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Nazareth Area SD
- Nazareth Area High SchoolHigh · 1,607 students
- Nazareth Area Middle SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Nazareth Area Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 752 students
- Lower Nazareth Elementary SchoolElementary · 615 students
- Kenneth N Butz Jr Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
Other schools in Nazareth
- Nazareth Area High SchoolHigh · 1,607 students
- Nazareth Area Middle SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Nazareth Area Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 752 students
- Lower Nazareth Elementary SchoolElementary · 615 students
- Kenneth N Butz Jr Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Plainfield Elementary SchoolElementary · 434 students
Nearby schools
- Nazareth Area High School0.2 mi · 1,607
- Nazareth Area Intermediate School0.7 mi · 752
- Nazareth Area Middle School0.7 mi · 775
- Lower Nazareth Elementary School3.0 mi · 615
- Tracy Elementary School3.1 mi · 410
- Plainfield Elementary School3.6 mi · 434
Frequently asked questions
About Shafer Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Shafer Elementary School?
Shafer Elementary School enrolls approximately 559 students in grades KG-04.
Is Shafer Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Shafer Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-04.
How many teachers does Shafer Elementary School have?
Shafer Elementary School employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.3:1.
How diverse is Shafer Elementary School?
Shafer Elementary School reports a student body of 74% White, 16% Hispanic, 2% Black, 3% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Shafer Elementary School public or private?
Shafer Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Nazareth Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.