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What advice would you give to incoming students at South Fayette MS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
859
Middle
DISTRICT 881 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP SD·NCES 422058000258
South Fayette Middle School
3700 Old Oakdale Rd, McDonald, PA 15057 · (412) 221-4542 · Allegheny County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL859 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 97% of Pennsylvania public middle 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
57 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
14%
121 students
DISTRICT 15% · 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 | 291 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 315 | 37% |
| Grade 8 | 253 | 29% |
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · 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
South Fayette Middle School→South Fayette High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within South Fayette Township SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
83.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -1.6pp since 2023
Math
69.4%
PA avg 43.0% . +0.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 84 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 83.5% | 69.4% |
| 2023-24 | 85.1% | 68.5% |
% 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
76.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.6%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 77% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 72% 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 South Fayette Middle School
South Fayette Middle School's state test result (76.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Fayette Middle School this school | 859 | 14.1% | 76.6% |
| Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center Downingtown | 1,066 | 15.2% | 66.2% |
| Garnet Valley Middle School Glen Mills | 1,086 | 13.4% | 70.1% |
| Murray Avenue School Huntingdon Valley | 652 | 19.2% | 74.0% |
| Unami Middle School Chalfont | 784 | 9.2% | 71.0% |
| Tredyffrin-Easttown Middle School Berwyn | 1,056 | 9.4% | 76.0% |
Matched among Pennsylvania middle 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 South Fayette Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Allegheny County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.6% | #11 of 479 | #6 of 47 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.4% | #18 of 513 ▼ 4 | #6 of 51 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 83.5% | #9 of 513 ▼ 2 | #4 of 51 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 859 | #88 of 522 | #7 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #410 of 486 | #40 of 46 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.8% | #145 of 486 | #14 of 46 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 14.1% | #488 of 510 | #42 of 51 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.2% | #68 of 131 | #9 of 18 |
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. 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
859
+19 (+2%) vs 2020
+73% since 2000-01, when it was 497
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 15.6:1
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 | 859 | 57.1 | 15.0:1 | 14% (121) |
| 2023-24 | 844 | 56.6 | 14.9:1 | 14% (121) |
| 2022-23 | 802 | 54.2 | 14.8:1 | 13% (101) |
| 2020-21 | 840 | 54 | 15.6:1 | 11% (91) |
| 2017-18 | 801 | 50.1 | 16.0:1 | 12% (98) |
| 2015-16 | 730 | 45 | 16.2:1 | 14% (102) |
| 2010-11 | 735 | 34 | 21.6:1 | 11% (81) |
| 2000-01 | 497 | 27 | 18.4:1 | 0% (0) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Fayette Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (801 to 859); teachers up 14% (50.1 to 57.1).
About South Fayette Middle School
A medium-sized middle school in McDonald, Pennsylvania, South Fayette Middle School is part of South Fayette Township SD. Classes run from 6 through 8, and the school has 859 students. Against the 594-student average for middle schools in Pennsylvania, enrollment here is 45% higher.
South Fayette Middle School is part of a district of 4 schools: South Fayette Township SD, with 3,522 students.
Roughly 64% of students at South Fayette Middle School are White. Beyond that, enrollment is 26% Asian, 5% multiracial, and 3% Black. The White share of the county population is higher, at 76%. Pick two students at random and there is a 52% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
South Fayette Middle School operates with 57.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 15.0:1. On average, middle schools in Pennsylvania have 13.2:1, compared with 15.0:1 here. South Fayette Middle School reports 14% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The 54% average for public schools in Allegheny County is 40 points higher.
Measured against Pennsylvania public middle schools, South Fayette Middle School receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, South Fayette Middle School would be expected to post about 71.6%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 76.6%.
Among Allegheny County residents, the median household income is $78,548, about 46% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Besides South Fayette Middle School, Allegheny County has 276 other public schools.
The closest public school, South Fayette Elementary School, is about 0.1 miles from South Fayette Middle School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, South Fayette Middle School places 5th out of 7 schools in its immediate area.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
Enrollment was essentially flat over 4 years: 840 in 2020-21, 859 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Allegheny County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,238,177
Census ACS
Median income
$78,548
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
277
141,392 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in South Fayette Township SD
- South Fayette High SchoolHigh · 1,143 students
- South Fayette Intermediate SchoolElementary · 803 students
- South Fayette Elementary SchoolElementary · 717 students
Other schools in McDonald
- South Fayette High SchoolHigh · 1,143 students
- South Fayette Intermediate SchoolElementary · 803 students
- South Fayette Elementary SchoolElementary · 717 students
Nearby schools
- South Fayette Elementary School0.1 mi · 717
- South Fayette High School0.3 mi · 1,143
- South Fayette Intermediate School0.3 mi · 803
- McKee Elementary School2.9 mi · 521
- Chartiers Valley Primary School3.4 mi · 892
- Chartiers Valley High School3.6 mi · 1,029
Frequently asked questions
About South Fayette Middle SchoolHow many students attend South Fayette Middle School?
South Fayette Middle School enrolls approximately 859 students in grades 06-08.
Is South Fayette Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Fayette Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does South Fayette Middle School have?
South Fayette Middle School employs 57 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Fayette Middle School?
At South Fayette Middle School, the student body is approximately 64% White, 2% Hispanic, 3% Black, 26% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is South Fayette Middle School public or private?
South Fayette Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by South Fayette Township SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.