1
What's the one class at Welsh Valley MS every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
788
Middle
DISTRICT 886 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOWER MERION SD·NCES 421416003294
Welsh Valley Middle School
325 Tower Lane, Narberth, PA 19072 · (610) 658-3920 · Montgomery County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL788 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% 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.
- 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
9.9:1
79 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.0:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
139 students
DISTRICT 16% · 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 5 | 170 | 22% |
| Grade 6 | 197 | 25% |
| Grade 7 | 211 | 27% |
| Grade 8 | 210 | 27% |
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · 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
83.5%
PA avg 51.1% . +1.7pp since 2023
Math
80.7%
PA avg 43.0% . +5.3pp 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 81 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 83.5% | 80.7% |
| 2023-24 | 81.8% | 75.4% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
80.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.0%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 80% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 70% 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 Welsh Valley Middle School
Welsh Valley Middle School's state test result (80.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welsh Valley Middle School this school | 788 | 17.6% | 80.3% |
| Strath Haven Middle School Wallingford | 868 | 16.9% | 70.5% |
| Arcola Intrmd School Eagleville | 692 | 20.8% | 58.1% |
| Sandy Run Middle School Dresher | 962 | 18.3% | 68.9% |
| Skyview Upper Elementary School Eagleville | 695 | 20.4% | 62.5% |
| Black Rock Middle School Villanova | 1,077 | 15.0% | 83.5% |
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 Welsh Valley Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 80.3% | #6 of 479 | #2 of 33 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 80.7% | #3 of 513 ▲ 3 | #2 of 33 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 83.5% | #8 of 513 ▲ 9 | #2 of 33 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 788 | #121 of 522 | #16 of 34 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.9:1 | #25 of 486 | #3 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.5% | #129 of 486 | #20 of 34 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.6% | #474 of 510 | #30 of 33 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.6% | #35 of 332 | #1 of 21 |
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
788
-223 (-22%) vs 2020
+64% since 1990-91, when it was 481
Student : Teacher
9.9:1
was 10.3:1
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 | 788 | 79.5 | 9.9:1 | 18% (139) |
| 2023-24 | 818 | 81.9 | 10.0:1 | 17% (139) |
| 2022-23 | 814 | 80.1 | 10.2:1 | 16% (129) |
| 2020-21 | 1,011 | 98 | 10.3:1 | 14% (142) |
| 2017-18 | 1,045 | 88.7 | 11.8:1 | 11% (118) |
| 2015-16 | 979 | 89 | 11.0:1 | 12% (117) |
| 2010-11 | 829 | 83 | 10.0:1 | 7% (55) |
| 2000-01 | 775 | 61 | 12.7:1 | 8% (61) |
| 1990-91 | 481 | 39 | 12.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Welsh Valley Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (1,045 to 788); teachers down 10% (88.7 to 79.5).
About Welsh Valley Middle School
Welsh Valley Middle School serves students in Narberth, Pennsylvania, as a mid-sized middle-grades school. The school counted 788 students in 2024-25, covering grades 5 through 8. The school is 33% larger than the average for middle schools in Pennsylvania.
Welsh Valley Middle School is run by Lower Merion SD, whose 11 schools enroll 8,533 students.
The student body at Welsh Valley Middle School is 65% White. The school is also 10% multiracial, 10% Asian, 7% Black, and 7% Hispanic. The White share of the county population is higher, at 73%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 54, compared with 70 nationally.
Welsh Valley Middle School has 79.5 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.9:1. By comparison, the average for middle schools in Pennsylvania is 13.2:1. At Welsh Valley Middle School, 18% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. That is lower than the 40% average for public schools in Montgomery County.
Welsh Valley Middle School earns an A+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 99% of Pennsylvania public middle schools.
On BeatsExpectations, Welsh Valley Middle School is 10.3 points above its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Pennsylvania schools.
American Community Survey estimates for Montgomery County show that median household income comes to about $113,915, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 53% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. Montgomery County counts 160 public schools with about 115,302 students.
Penn Valley School is about 0.7 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Welsh Valley Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Local comparison: Welsh Valley Middle School ranks 5th of 9 nearby schools, at 80.3% versus a 71.9% average.
Welsh Valley Middle School falls in the Suburb: Large locale category, used for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
By 2024-25, enrollment had dropped to 788, from 1,011 in 2020-21.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Montgomery County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
867,573
Census ACS
Median income
$113,915
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
53%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
160
115,302 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lower Merion SD
- Lower Merion High SchoolHigh · 1,674 students
- Harriton SHSHigh · 1,239 students
- Black Rock Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,077 students
- Bala-Cynwyd Middle SchoolMiddle · 794 students
- Penn Wynne SchoolElementary · 621 students
- Gladwyne SchoolElementary · 556 students
Nearby schools
- Penn Valley School0.7 mi · 542
- Belmont Hills Elementary School1.0 mi · 358
- Bala-Cynwyd Middle School1.3 mi · 794
- Gladwyne School1.3 mi · 556
- Dobson James School1.3 mi · 229
- Cynwyd School1.4 mi · 446
Frequently asked questions
About Welsh Valley Middle SchoolHow large is Welsh Valley Middle School?
Welsh Valley Middle School enrolls approximately 788 students in grades 05-08.
What age range does Welsh Valley Middle School serve?
Welsh Valley Middle School serves students from grade 05 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Welsh Valley Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Welsh Valley Middle School is approximately 9.9:1 (79 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Welsh Valley Middle School?
Welsh Valley Middle School reports a student body of 65% White, 7% Hispanic, 7% Black, 10% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Welsh Valley Middle School public or private?
Welsh Valley Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Lower Merion SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.