Palmerton Area School District

The Palmerton Area School District in Pennsylvania consists of 5 schools, including 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school, serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The district exhibits a mix of strong and weaker performing schools, with Towamensing Elementary School and Palmerton Area High School standing out as the top performers.

Towamensing Elementary School has the highest PSSA test scores across multiple grade levels and subjects compared to the district and state averages, with 90.6% of 4th-grade students proficient or better in science. The school also has the lowest student-teacher ratio among the elementary schools at 11.3. Palmerton Area High School boasts a strong 93.1% four-year graduation rate, outperforming the state average, and its students outperformed the district and state averages in Keystone Exams for Biology and Literature.

However, the district also exhibits notable differences in academic performance between the schools. While the district as a whole performs reasonably well, the middle and high school performance lags behind the top-performing elementary school. Additionally, there appears to be a correlation between the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch and academic performance, with schools like Parkside Education Center and S S Palmer Elementary School having higher free/reduced lunch rates and lower test scores.