1
What tradition at West Hempfield MS should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
546
Middle
DISTRICT 586 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HEMPFIELD AREA SD·NCES 421176009953
West Hempfield Middle School
156 Northumberland Road, Irwin, PA 15642 · (724) 850-2140 · Westmoreland County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL546 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 63% of Pennsylvania public middle 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
257 students
DISTRICT 41% · 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 | 192 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 181 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 173 | 32% |
Student demographics
19%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · 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
Based on grade levels within Hempfield Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
58.1%
PA avg 51.1% . -3.1pp since 2023
Math
43.4%
PA avg 43.0% . +2.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 58.1% | 43.4% |
| 2023-24 | 61.2% | 41.4% |
% 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
52.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.4%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 53% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 West Hempfield Middle School
West Hempfield Middle School's state test result (52.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Hempfield Middle School this school | 546 | 47.1% | 52.8% |
| Selinsgrove Area Middle School Selinsgrove | 532 | 50.2% | 51.1% |
| Yough Intrmd/MS School Ruffsdale | 541 | 51.4% | 41.2% |
| Big Spring Middle School Newville | 550 | 42.0% | 52.1% |
| Fort LeBoeuf Middle School Waterford | 471 | 51.2% | 60.8% |
| Susquenita Middle School Duncannon | 562 | 43.2% | 39.8% |
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 West Hempfield Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Westmoreland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.8% | #180 of 479 | #8 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #173 of 513 ▲ 18 | #10 of 19 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.1% | #167 of 513 ▲ 20 | #10 of 19 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 546 | #268 of 522 | #6 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.6:1 | #212 of 486 | #7 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 18.8% | #397 of 486 | #6 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 47.1% | #285 of 510 | #9 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +33.2% | #12 of 131 | #2 of 6 |
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
546
+118 (+28%) vs 2020
-1% since 1990-91, when it was 554
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
was 13.4:1
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 | 546 | 43.4 | 12.6:1 | 47% (257) |
| 2023-24 | 559 | 50.3 | 11.1:1 | 46% (257) |
| 2022-23 | 400 | 30.4 | 13.2:1 | 44% (176) |
| 2020-21 | 428 | 32 | 13.4:1 | 35% (150) |
| 2017-18 | 410 | 30.3 | 13.6:1 | 36% (148) |
| 2015-16 | 443 | 34 | 13.0:1 | 36% (158) |
| 2010-11 | 535 | 38 | 14.1:1 | 29% (154) |
| 2000-01 | 439 | 33 | 13.3:1 | 23% (103) |
| 1990-91 | 554 | 37 | 15.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West Hempfield Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 33% (410 to 546); teachers up 43% (30.3 to 43.4).
About West Hempfield Middle School
This page covers West Hempfield Middle School, a mid-sized middle school in Irwin, Pennsylvania. It offers grades 6 through 8 and has 546 students enrolled.
Hempfield Area SD has 5,015 students in 9 schools, and West Hempfield Middle School is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at West Hempfield Middle School, about 90 are White. Other students are 5% multiracial and 2% Hispanic. Census estimates put Westmoreland County at about 92% White, close to the school's figure. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 19%.
West Hempfield Middle School has a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.6:1, with 43.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is in line with the 13.2:1 average for middle schools in Pennsylvania. The school has 47% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
West Hempfield Middle School earns a B on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 63% of Pennsylvania public middle schools.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, West Hempfield Middle School is 4.7 points below the average proficiency rate across its state test results predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 52.8% actual, 57.4% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Pennsylvania.
The school is in Westmoreland County, where median household income comes to about $74,109, roughly 33% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Westmoreland County's 85 public schools enroll about 41,302 students and include West Hempfield Middle School.
West Hempfield Elementary School is about 0.6 miles away, making it the nearest public school. West Hempfield Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. West Hempfield Middle School ranks 8th of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 52.8% against a local average of 67.4%.
West Hempfield Middle School has an NCES locale of Suburb: Large.
Since 2020-21, enrollment has grown 28%, from 428 to 546.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at West Hempfield Middle School. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Westmoreland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
352,500
Census ACS
Median income
$74,109
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
85
41,302 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Hempfield Area SD
- Hempfield Area SHSHigh · 1,228 students
- Wendover Middle SchoolMiddle · 626 students
- Stanwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 518 students
- West Hempfield Elementary SchoolElementary · 496 students
- Fort Allen Elementary SchoolElementary · 480 students
- Maxwell Elementary SchoolElementary · 380 students
Other schools in Irwin
- West Hempfield Elementary SchoolElementary · 496 students
- Sunrise Elementary SchoolElementary · 412 students
Nearby schools
- West Hempfield Elementary School0.6 mi · 496
- Hahntown Elementary School3.1 mi · 419
- H W Good Elementary School3.3 mi · 270
- Norwin Middle School3.3 mi · 819
- Norwin High School3.4 mi · 1,671
- Jeannette McKee Elementary School3.4 mi · 504
Frequently asked questions
About West Hempfield Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at West Hempfield Middle School?
West Hempfield Middle School enrolls approximately 546 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does West Hempfield Middle School serve?
West Hempfield Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does West Hempfield Middle School have?
West Hempfield Middle School employs 43 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.6:1.
What is the student diversity at West Hempfield Middle School?
Student demographics at West Hempfield Middle School are roughly 90% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees West Hempfield Middle School?
West Hempfield Middle School is overseen by Hempfield Area SD in Westmoreland County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.