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What's the best and worst thing about the food at South Mountain MS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
972
Middle
DISTRICT 831 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ALLENTOWN CITY SD·NCES 420228002793
South Mountain Middle School
709 W Emaus Ave, Allentown, PA 18103 · (484) 765-4301 · Lehigh County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL972 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 7% of Pennsylvania public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
13.7:1
71 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.0:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
966 students
DISTRICT 102% · 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 | 337 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 334 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 301 | 31% |
Student demographics
45%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 43% · 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
18.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -9.1pp since 2023
Math
10.8%
PA avg 43.0% . +2.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 19 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 11 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 18.5% | 10.8% |
| 2023-24 | 27.6% | 8.8% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of PA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
17.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.0%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 17% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 35% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Mountain Middle School
South Mountain Middle School's state test result (17.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Mountain Middle School this school | 972 | 99.4% | 17.1% |
| Harrison-Morton Middle School Allentown | 704 | 94.7% | 12.6% |
| Muhlenberg Jr High School Reading | 1,016 | 99.0% | 27.5% |
| G A R Middle School Wilkes-Barre | 1,101 | 96.8% | 19.8% |
| John B Stetson Middle School Philadelphia | 560 | 99.1% | 7.4% |
| C E Cole Intermediate School Reading | 986 | 96.3% | 28.9% |
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 Mountain Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Lehigh County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 17.1% | #460 of 479 | #14 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.8% | #461 of 513 ▲ 12 | #13 of 17 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 18.5% | #486 of 513 ▼ 13 | #14 of 17 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 972 | #56 of 522 | #5 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #309 of 486 | #11 of 17 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.7% | #192 of 486 | #9 of 17 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.4% | #89 of 510 | #4 of 17 |
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
972
-242 (-20%) vs 2020
+30% since 1990-91, when it was 745
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 16.2:1
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 | 972 | 71 | 13.7:1 | 99% (966) |
| 2023-24 | 966 | 64 | 15.1:1 | 100% (966) |
| 2022-23 | 1,007 | 71.5 | 14.1:1 | 100% (1,007) |
| 2020-21 | 1,214 | 75 | 16.2:1 | 100% (1,211) |
| 2017-18 | 972 | 72.5 | 13.4:1 | 100% (972) |
| 2015-16 | 932 | 73 | 12.8:1 | 74% (692) |
| 2010-11 | 1,075 | 88 | 12.2:1 | 88% (945) |
| 2000-01 | 1,165 | 63 | 18.5:1 | 70% (814) |
| 1990-91 | 745 | 57 | 13.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Mountain Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (972 to 972); teachers down 2% (72.5 to 71).
About South Mountain Middle School
South Mountain Middle School is a large middle-grades school for students in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The school counted 972 students in 2024-25, covering grades 6 through 8. The school is 64% larger than the average for middle schools in Pennsylvania.
Allentown City SD serves 16,674 students across 23 schools.
Hispanic students are 73% of those enrolled at South Mountain Middle School. Beyond that, enrollment is 13% Black, 7% multiracial, and 6% White. In Lehigh County overall, about 28% of residents are Hispanic. A diversity index of 45% means there is a 45% chance two randomly chosen students at South Mountain Middle School are from different groups.
For every teacher at South Mountain Middle School, there are about 13.7 students; the school has 71 full-time-equivalent teachers. It is about the same as the 13.2:1 average for middle schools in Pennsylvania. There are 966 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 99% of enrollment. On average, public schools in Lehigh County report 70%.
South Mountain Middle School earns a D on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 7% of Pennsylvania public middle schools.
Test results at South Mountain Middle School are 17.9 points below what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate across its state test results is 17.1%, compared with a predicted 35.0%, which ranks in the bottom 10% in Pennsylvania.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Lehigh County show that the median household earns about $80,079 a year, about 34% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Lehigh County has 83 public schools with about 56,984 students, including South Mountain Middle School.
Among nearby public schools, Hiram W Dodd Elementary School is closest at about 0.2 miles. South Mountain Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Among 8 nearby schools that report test results, South Mountain Middle School ranks 7th on proficiency.
Its location is classified as City: Mid-size by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Over 4 years, enrollment fell by 242 students, from 1,214 to 972. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 16.2:1 to 13.7:1.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at South Mountain Middle School. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
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 Allentown City SD
- William Allen High SchoolHigh · 3,074 students
- Louis E Dieruff High SchoolHigh · 1,914 students
- Francis D Raub Middle SchoolMiddle · 876 students
- Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays Elementary SchoolElementary · 807 students
- Trexler Middle SchoolMiddle · 771 students
- Harrison-Morton Middle SchoolMiddle · 704 students
Other schools in Allentown
- Parkland High SchoolHigh · 3,279 students
- William Allen High SchoolHigh · 3,074 students
- Louis E Dieruff High SchoolHigh · 1,914 students
- Executive Education Academy CSCombined · 1,497 students
- Springhouse Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,329 students
- Lincoln Leadership Academy CSCombined · 973 students
Nearby schools
- Hiram W Dodd Elementary School0.2 mi · 627
- Roosevelt Elementary School1.0 mi · 631
- Jefferson Elementary School1.1 mi · 522
- Salisbury SHS1.2 mi · 546
- Lehigh Parkway Elementary School1.2 mi · 276
- Building 21 Allentown1.7 mi · 415
Frequently asked questions
About South Mountain Middle SchoolHow large is South Mountain Middle School?
South Mountain Middle School enrolls approximately 972 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does South Mountain Middle School serve?
South Mountain Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at South Mountain Middle School?
Approximately 13.7:1 students per teacher at South Mountain Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Mountain Middle School?
At South Mountain Middle School, the student body is approximately 6% White, 73% Hispanic, 13% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is South Mountain Middle School public or private?
South Mountain Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Allentown City SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.