Bethlehem-Center School District - Academic Achievement

Academic Achievement

In July 2012, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released a report identifying a Bethlehem-Center School District school as among the lowest achieving schools for reading and mathematics in 2011. Bethlehem-Center Middle School was listed among the 15% lowest achieving schools in the Commonwealth. Parents and students may be eligible for scholarships to transfer to another public or nonpublic school through the state's Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program passed in June 2012. The scholarships are limited to those students whose family's income is less than $60,000 annually, with another $12,000 allowed per dependent. Maximum scholarship award is $8,500, with special education students receiving up to $15,000 for a year's tuition. Parents pay any difference between the scholarship amount and the receiving school's tuition rate. Students may seek admission to neighboring public school districts. Each year the PDE publishes the tuition rate for each individual public school district. Bethlehem-Center MS was the only public school in Washington County on the lowest achieving schools in 2011. According to the report, parents in 414 public schools (74 school districts) were offered access to these scholarships. For the 2012-13 school year, seven public school districts in Pennsylvania had all of their schools placed on the list including: Sto-Rox School District, Chester Upland School District, Clairton City School District, Duquesne City School District, Farrell Area School District, Wilkinsburg Borough School District and Steelton-Highspire School District. Funding for the scholarships comes from donations by businesses which receive a state tax credit for donating

Statewide Academic ranking

In 2011, Bethlehem-Center School District ranked 273rd out of 498 Pennsylvania districts. The ranking was based on five years of student academic achievement as demonstrated by PSSAs results in reading, writing, math and three years of science.

• 2010 - 304th
• 2009 - 275th
• 2008 - 302nd
• 2007 - 279th of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts.

Overachiever ranking

In 2012, the Pittsburgh Business Times also reported an Overachievers Ranking for 498 Pennsylvania school districts. Bethlehem-Center School District ranked 343rd. In 2011, the district was 317th. The editor describes the ranking as: "a ranking answers the question - which school districts do better than expectations based upon economics? This rank takes the Honor Roll rank and adds the percentage of students in the district eligible for free and reduced lunch into the formula. A district finishing high on this rank is smashing expectations, and any district above the median point is exceeding expectations."

Western Pennsylvania local ranking

Bethlehem-Center School District was ranked 68th out of 105 western Pennsylvania school districts, in 2012, by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on the last three years of student academic performance on the PSSAs on: math, reading, writing and science. (includes 105 districts in: Allegheny County, Armstrong County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Washington County and Westmoreland County excludes Duquesne City School District & Midland Borough School District due to no high schools)

• 2011 - 64th.
• 2010 - 67th
• 2009 - 64th

AYP history

In 2011 and 2010, Bethlehem-Center School District achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status under No Child Left Behind. In 2011, School District achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). In 2011, 94 percent of the 500 Pennsylvania public school districts achieved the No Child Left Behind Act progress level of 72% of students reading on grade level and 67% of students demonstrating on grade level math. In 2011, 46.9 percent of Pennsylvania school districts achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) based on student performance. An additional 37.8 percent of school districts made AYP based on a calculated method called safe harbor, 8.2 percent on the growth model and 0.8 percent on a two-year average performance.

In 2009, the academic achievement of the students of the Bethlehem-Center School DIstrict was in the bottom 25th percentile among 500 Pennsylvania School Districts. Scale - (0-99; 100 is state best)