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Alumni: what's one memory from Wilkes-Barre Area HS that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,569
High
DISTRICT 1,331 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WILKES-BARRE AREA SD·NCES 422630007700
Wilkes-Barre Area High School
2021 Wolfpack Way, Plains, PA 18705 · (570) 826-7111 · Luzerne County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,569 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 27% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- C-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
23.4:1
110 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 26.4:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
2,470 students
DISTRICT 97% · 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 | 660 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 753 | 29% |
| Grade 11 | 592 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 564 | 22% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
50.8%
PA avg 51.1% . +0.1pp since 2023
Math
22.4%
PA avg 43.0% . -4.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 51 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 22 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 50.8% | 22.4% |
| 2023-24 | 50.7% | 27.1% |
% 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
32.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.4%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% 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 Wilkes-Barre Area High School
Wilkes-Barre Area High School's state test result (32.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre Area High School this school | 2,569 | 96.1% | 32.5% |
| McCaskey Campus Lancaster | 2,600 | 89.0% | 35.1% |
| West Scranton High School Scranton | 1,404 | 99.4% | 35.6% |
| William Penn SHS York | 1,681 | 95.7% | 19.4% |
| Hazleton Area High School Hazle Township | 4,071 | 95.4% | 35.1% |
| Scranton High School Scranton | 1,815 | 100.0% | 57.0% |
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 Wilkes-Barre Area High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Luzerne County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.5% | #477 of 576 | #10 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.4% | #485 of 626 ▼ 62 | #8 of 12 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 50.8% | #405 of 626 ▲ 43 | #6 of 12 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,569 | #17 of 713 | #2 of 16 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.4:1 | #588 of 601 | #12 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.1% | #59 of 604 | #1 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.1% | #206 of 619 | #6 of 12 |
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.
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2,569 | 109.5 | 23.4:1 | 96% (2,470) |
| 2023-24 | 2,470 | 114.6 | 21.6:1 | 100% (2,470) |
| 2022-23 | 2,293 | 115.7 | 19.8:1 | 87% (1,984) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wilkes-Barre Area High School.
About Wilkes-Barre Area High School
Wilkes-Barre Area High School, located in Plains, Pennsylvania, is a large high school. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 2,569 students. Statewide, high schools in Pennsylvania average about 738 students each.
Wilkes-Barre Area SD (10 schools, 8,277 students) runs Wilkes-Barre Area High School.
Hispanic students account for 52% of enrollment at Wilkes-Barre Area High School. The remaining students are 26% White, 15% Black, and 7% multiracial. Census figures show Luzerne County is about 17% Hispanic. By the diversity index, Wilkes-Barre Area High School comes in at 64%.
Its 109.5 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 23.4:1. That ratio is over the 12.8:1 average for high schools in Pennsylvania. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 96%. For comparison, public schools in Luzerne County average 85%.
Measured against Pennsylvania public high schools, Wilkes-Barre Area High School receives a C. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Wilkes-Barre Area High School is 36.4%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 32.5%.
Census estimates describe Luzerne County this way: median household income is about $63,691, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Luzerne County number 65 and enroll about 45,209.
Nearest public school: Wilkes-Barre Area SD STEM Academy, less than a tenth of a mile away. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Wilkes-Barre Area High School is 6th of 8 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
NCES describes the area around Wilkes-Barre Area High School as Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The Wilkes-Barre Area High School community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Luzerne County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
327,675
Census ACS
Median income
$63,691
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
65
45,209 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wilkes-Barre Area SD
- G A R Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,101 students
- Dr David W Kistler Elementary SchoolElementary · 961 students
- Heights/Murray Elementary SchoolElementary · 838 students
- Solomon/Plains Middle SchoolMiddle · 758 students
- Solomon/Plains Elementary SchoolElementary · 718 students
- Daniel J Flood Elementary SchoolElementary · 616 students
Other schools in Plains
- Solomon/Plains Middle SchoolMiddle · 758 students
- Solomon/Plains Elementary SchoolElementary · 718 students
- Wilkes-Barre Area SD STEM AcademyHigh · 93 students
Nearby schools
- Wilkes-Barre Area SD STEM Academy0.0 mi · 93
- Solomon/Plains Elementary School0.6 mi · 718
- Solomon/Plains Middle School0.6 mi · 758
- Daniel J Flood Elementary School0.9 mi · 616
- Dodson Elementary School1.4 mi · 522
- Dana El Center1.6 mi · 626
Frequently asked questions
About Wilkes-Barre Area High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Wilkes-Barre Area High School?
Wilkes-Barre Area High School enrolls approximately 2,569 students in grades 09-12.
Is Wilkes-Barre Area High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Wilkes-Barre Area High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Wilkes-Barre Area High School have?
Wilkes-Barre Area High School employs 110 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 23.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Wilkes-Barre Area High School?
Student demographics at Wilkes-Barre Area High School are roughly 26% White, 52% Hispanic, 15% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Wilkes-Barre Area High School in?
Wilkes-Barre Area High School is part of Wilkes-Barre Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.