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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at South Western SHS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,380
High
DISTRICT 730 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTH WESTERN SD·NCES 422247004608
South Western SHS
200 Bowman Rd, Hanover, PA 17331 · (717) 633-4807 · York County
GRADES 09–12HIGH23-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,380 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 56% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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 high schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
92 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
480 students
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 331 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 352 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 349 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 348 | 25% |
Student demographics
33%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · 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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within South Western SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
55.6%
PA avg 51.1% . -3.8pp since 2023
Math
58.2%
PA avg 43.0% . -8.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 9 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.6% | 58.2% |
| 2023-24 | 59.4% | 66.8% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
57.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% 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 Western SHS
South Western SHS's state test result (57.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Western SHS this school | 1,380 | 34.8% | 57.6% |
| Elizabethtown Area SHS Elizabethtown | 1,263 | 37.9% | 57.7% |
| Warwick SHS Lititz | 1,241 | 33.5% | 72.5% |
| Shaler Area High School Pittsburgh | 1,160 | 35.3% | 61.5% |
| Spring Grove Area High School Spring Grove | 1,163 | 38.9% | 61.5% |
| Upper Perkiomen High School Pennsburg | 1,021 | 35.5% | 64.1% |
Matched among Pennsylvania high 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 Western SHS ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In York County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.6% | #194 of 576 | #10 of 17 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 58.2% | #128 of 626 ▼ 74 | #5 of 17 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.6% | #352 of 626 ▼ 17 | #15 of 17 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,380 | #92 of 713 | #5 of 18 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #413 of 601 | #11 of 17 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 33.3% | #275 of 604 | #12 of 17 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 34.8% | #503 of 619 | #13 of 17 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.7% | #68 of 221 | #3 of 6 |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,380
+119 (+9%) vs 2020
+45% since 1990-91, when it was 952
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 1,380 | 92 | 15.0:1 | 35% (480) |
| 2023-24 | 1,356 | 96.1 | 14.1:1 | 35% (480) |
| 2022-23 | 1,299 | 85.5 | 15.2:1 | 31% (400) |
| 2020-21 | 1,261 | 87 | 14.5:1 | 35% (445) |
| 2017-18 | 1,225 | 83.7 | 14.6:1 | 23% (279) |
| 2015-16 | 1,196 | 83 | 14.4:1 | 30% (355) |
| 2010-11 | 1,280 | 85 | 15.1:1 | 19% (248) |
| 2000-01 | 1,224 | 80 | 15.3:1 | 8% (102) |
| 1990-91 | 952 | 59 | 16.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Western SHS.
Since 2017-18: students up 13% (1,225 to 1,380); teachers up 10% (83.7 to 92).
About South Western SHS
South Western SHS serves students in Hanover, Pennsylvania, as a large high school. School enrollment was 1,380 students in 2024-25, in grades 9 through 12. The average among high schools in Pennsylvania is roughly 738 students; this school is 87% above that.
South Western SD enrolls 4,378 students in 6 schools, including South Western SHS.
South Western SHS's enrollment is 81% White. Next come 7% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 3% multiracial. County-wide, about 81% of residents are White. The school's diversity index is 33%, meaning two students picked at random have a 33% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal staffing data show 92 full-time-equivalent teachers at South Western SHS and a ratio of 15.0:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 12.8:1 average for high schools in Pennsylvania. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 35% of enrollment. The rate at public schools in York County averages 53%, higher than here.
Measured against Pennsylvania public high schools, South Western SHS 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.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For South Western SHS, the prediction is 62.7% and the result is 57.6%.
South Western SHS is located in York County, where the median household income is $84,829, about 28% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Besides South Western SHS, York County has 110 other public schools.
The closest public school, Emory H Markle Middle School, is about 0.2 miles from South Western SHS. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. South Western SHS is 3rd of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
For locale, NCES codes South Western SHS as Suburb: Small.
Enrollment has grown by 119 students since 2020-21, to 1,380.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at South Western SHS. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
York County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
462,924
Census ACS
Median income
$84,829
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
111
64,242 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in South Western SD
- Emory H Markle Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,046 students
- Baresville Elementary SchoolElementary · 586 students
- Park Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 572 students
- West Manheim Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
- Manheim Elementary SchoolElementary · 256 students
Other schools in Hanover
- Emory H Markle Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,046 students
- Hanover Middle SchoolMiddle · 636 students
- Baresville Elementary SchoolElementary · 586 students
- Hanover SHSHigh · 578 students
- Park Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 572 students
- West Manheim Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
Nearby schools
- Emory H Markle Middle School0.2 mi · 1,046
- Baresville Elementary School1.1 mi · 586
- Hanover Street Elementary School1.2 mi · 269
- Park Hills Elementary School1.3 mi · 572
- West Manheim Elementary School1.9 mi · 538
- Washington Elementary School2.1 mi · 213
Frequently asked questions
About South Western SHSHow large is South Western SHS?
South Western SHS enrolls approximately 1,380 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does South Western SHS serve?
South Western SHS serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at South Western SHS?
Approximately 15.0:1 students per teacher at South Western SHS.
How diverse is South Western SHS?
South Western SHS reports a student body of 81% White, 7% Hispanic, 7% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is South Western SHS public or private?
South Western SHS is a public K-12 school, overseen by South Western SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.