Pickering Valley Elementary School

Summary:

Pickering Valley Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, serving 458 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the highly-ranked Downingtown Area School District, which is ranked 25th out of 610 school districts in the state and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Pickering Valley Elementary School consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in Pennsylvania, with a statewide ranking between 6th and 35th over the past 10 years. The school's PSSA test scores are significantly higher than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. Pickering Valley also performs exceptionally well for female students, ranking 15th out of 1,488 Pennsylvania elementary schools in 2023-2024, and for Asian and White students, ranking in the top 218 and 165 respectively in 2022-2023. This high academic performance is supported by a low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 10.7 to 12.7 over the past three school years, and high spending per student, ranging from $14,606 to $16,262 over the past four years.

When compared to other elementary schools in the Downingtown Area School District and the neighboring West Chester Area School District, Pickering Valley Elementary School consistently outperforms its peers on PSSA test scores and statewide rankings. However, the school's lower rankings for male students and Asian/White students compared to female students and the overall school population may indicate potential equity issues that the school and district should further investigate and address.


Detail:

Public K-5

 121 Byers Rd
       Chester Springs, PA  19425-9505


(610) 458-5324

District: Downingtown Area School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
29th of 1,526 Pennsylvania Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $16,262 Help


Students who attend Pickering Valley Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Lionville Middle School
    Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center
High:    Downingtown High School East Campus

Student/teacher ratio:  12.7 Help
Number of students:  457

Racial breakdown:

Asian:
58.0%
White:
32.6%
Hispanic:
3.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  8.3% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Pickering Valley Elementary School ranks better than 98.1% of elementary schools in Pennsylvania. It also ranks first among 10 ranked elementary schools in the Downingtown Area School District! (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 92.66. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Pickering Valley Elementary School has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Downingtown Area School District. Racial makeup is: Asian (58%), White (32.6%), Hispanic (3.9%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 8.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Pickering Valley Elementary School is 12.7, which is the lowest among 10 elementary schools in the Downingtown Area School District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Pickering Valley Elementary School employs 35.9 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Pickering Valley Elementary School is $16,262, which is the highest among 10 elementary schools in the Downingtown Area School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Pickering Valley Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Pickering Valley Elementary School 29th of 1526 Pennsylvania public elementary schools. (See Pickering Valley Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
White students:


Downingtown Area School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Downingtown Area School District 25th of 610 Pennsylvania school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Pickering Valley Elementary School?

Rank History for Pickering Valley Elementary School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Pickering Valley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 93.18 32nd 1302 97.5%
2004 91.85 31st 1308 97.6%
2005 88.96 20th 1299 98.5%
2006 84.85 90th 1545 94.2%
2007 86.43 62nd 1555 96.0%
2008 83.88 118th 1551 92.4%
2009 79.67 209th 1549 86.5%
2010 80.09 209th 1579 86.8%
2011 83.07 115th 1597 92.8%
2012 81.80 158th 1599 90.1%
2013 88.10 18th 1519 98.8%
2014 88.13 22nd 1467 98.5%
2015 93.35 8th 1474 99.5%
2016 92.05 17th 1554 98.9%
2017 93.47 6th 1547 99.6%
2018 92.62 18th 1530 98.8%
2019 92.29 25th 1544 98.4%
2021 95.34 8th 1433 99.4%
2022 94.84 10th 1534 99.3%
2023 93.14 35th 1534 97.7%
2024 92.66 29th 1526 98.1%
See the entire list of Pennsylvania Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Female students at Pickering Valley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 93.99 15th 1488 99.0%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Pickering Valley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 88.48 100th 1495 93.3%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Pickering Valley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 75.43 38th 160 76.3%
2024 76.86 29th 168 82.7%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for White students at Pickering Valley Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 82.50 165th 1236 86.7%
2024 78.36 218th 1229 82.3%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Pennsylvania Dept of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Pickering Valley Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Pennsylvania Dept of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
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100%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Friday, March 25, 2016

Open Quote The Principle requires that all twins be separated and put in different classrooms. He doesn't even meet with the twins and get to know them, he just imposes a blanket rule covering all multiples. He said that they learn better when separated and that he had one bad experience with keeping twins together so all twins must be separated. I wish he got to know the students that he was separating before imposing his ruling. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Pickering Valley Elementary School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 589 9 11 2 0 n/a n/a 0 611
1989 667 6 16 0 0 n/a n/a 0 689
1990 704 6 16 2 0 n/a n/a 0 728
1991 479 7 4 3 1 n/a n/a 0 494
1992 501 3 5 2 1 n/a n/a 0 512
1993 507 3 4 4 1 n/a n/a 0 519
1994 558 5 5 4 2 n/a n/a 0 574
1995 576 4 5 2 0 n/a n/a 0 587
1996 576 4 5 2 0 n/a n/a 0 587
1997 556 5 4 2 0 n/a n/a 0 567
1998 485 6 6 0 0 n/a n/a 0 497
1999 501 6 8 2 0 n/a n/a 0 517
2000 490 6 9 2 0 n/a n/a 0 507
2001 518 1 8 2 0 n/a n/a 0 529
2002 455 3 9 1 0 n/a n/a 0 468
2003 455 3 9 1 0 n/a n/a 0 468
2004 478 4 20 1 0 n/a n/a 0 503
2005 514 1 22 3 0 n/a n/a 0 540
2006 528 2 42 3 0 n/a n/a 0 575
2007 558 6 78 3 0 n/a n/a 0 645
2008 585 6 130 4 0 n/a n/a 0 725
2009 481 9 138 13 0 n/a n/a 0 641
2010 474 5 157 17 0 n/a n/a 0 653
2011 485 7 178 16 0 0 2 0 688
2012 462 7 181 21 0 0 3 0 674
2013 434 5 195 21 0 0 12 0 667
2014 424 3 215 18 0 0 15 0 675
2015 296 1 166 16 0 1 11 0 491
2016 268 2 182 13 1 2 11 0 479
2017 260 4 213 14 0 1 14 0 506
2018 226 5 221 15 0 1 15 0 483
2019 213 7 207 12 0 1 16 0 456
2020 186 5 220 10 0 2 13 0 436
2021 155 9 222 9 1 2 15 0 413
2022 144 9 258 9 0 1 19 0 440
2023 145 7 281 9 0 1 15 0 458
2024 149 7 265 18 3 1 14 0 457

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Pickering Valley Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 611 28.0 21.8 n/a
1989 689 28.6 24.0 n/a
1990 728 32.0 22.7 0
1991 494 25.2 19.6 n/a
1992 512 25.2 20.3 n/a
1993 519 27.0 19.2 n/a
1994 574 29.0 19.8 n/a
1995 587 30.0 19.6 n/a
1996 587 30.0 19.6 n/a
1997 567 30.0 18.9 n/a
1998 497 26.8 18.5 n/a
1999 517 25.8 20.0 n/a
2000 507 26.3 19.3 1.6
2001 529 28.8 18.4 0.8
2002 468 27.3 17.1 0.9
2003 468 27.3 17.1 0.9
2004 503 29.6 17.0 0.4
2005 540 30.6 17.6 0.7
2006 575 31.8 18.1 0.5
2007 645 36.8 17.5 1.2
2008 725 41.5 17.5 1.5
2009 641 39.7 16.1 2.3
2010 653 39.2 16.6 n/a
2011 688 40.2 17.1 1.9
2012 674 39.6 17.0 2.2
2013 667 37.9 17.5 2.1
2014 675 36.9 18.2 2.5
2015 491 33.0 14.8 3.7
2016 479 31.0 15.4 3.3
2017 506 33.4 15.1 3.8
2018 483 35.4 13.6 5
2019 456 36.7 12.4 3.3
2020 436 36.7 11.8 4.1
2021 413 32.4 12.7 4.6
2022 440 40.9 10.7 6.4
2023 458 39.9 11.4 6.3
2024 457 35.9 12.7 8.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Pickering Valley Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 611 28.0 21.8 n/a
1989 689 28.6 24.0 n/a
1990 728 32.0 22.7 0
1991 494 25.2 19.6 n/a
1992 512 25.2 20.3 n/a
1993 519 27.0 19.2 n/a
1994 574 29.0 19.8 n/a
1995 587 30.0 19.6 n/a
1996 587 30.0 19.6 n/a
1997 567 30.0 18.9 n/a
1998 497 26.8 18.5 n/a
1999 517 25.8 20.0 n/a
2000 507 26.3 19.3 1.6
2001 529 28.8 18.4 0.8
2002 468 27.3 17.1 0.9
2003 468 27.3 17.1 0.9
2004 503 29.6 17.0 0.4
2005 540 30.6 17.6 0.7
2006 575 31.8 18.1 0.5
2007 645 36.8 17.5 1.2
2008 725 41.5 17.5 1.5
2009 641 39.7 16.1 2.3
2010 653 39.2 16.6 n/a
2011 688 40.2 17.1 1.9
2012 674 39.6 17.0 2.2
2013 667 37.9 17.5 2.1
2014 675 36.9 18.2 2.5
2015 491 33.0 14.8 3.7
2016 479 31.0 15.4 3.3
2017 506 33.4 15.1 3.8
2018 483 35.4 13.6 5
2019 456 36.7 12.4 3.3
2020 436 36.7 11.8 4.1
2021 413 32.4 12.7 4.6
2022 440 40.9 10.7 6.4
2023 458 39.9 11.4 6.3
2024 457 35.9 12.7 8.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Pickering Valley Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $118 (0.8%) $14,489 (99.2%) $14,606
2020 $142 (0.9%) $14,900 (99.1%) $15,042
2021 $181 (1.1%) $15,765 (98.9%) $15,946
2022 $293 (1.8%) $15,969 (98.2%) $16,262

Data source: Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Pickering Valley Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 25th of 1544 Elementary schoolsRanks 35th of 1534 Elementary schools
 0.7%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Math (Pickering Valley Elementary School)84.883.1
 1.7%
   3rd Grade Math (Pennsylvania)5651.7
 4.3%
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Pickering Valley Elementary School)89.889.3
 0.5%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)61.954
 7.9%
4th Grade Math (Pickering Valley Elementary School)83.277.9
 5.3%
   4th Grade Math (Pennsylvania)46.246.5
 0.3%
4th Grade Science (Pickering Valley Elementary School)96.894.7
 2.1%
   4th Grade Science (Pennsylvania)77.874.1
 3.7%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Pickering Valley Elementary School)93.680
 13.6%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)63.651.8
 11.8%
5th Grade Math (Pickering Valley Elementary School)82.388.6
 6.3%
   5th Grade Math (Pennsylvania)4342.7
 0.3%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Pickering Valley Elementary School)9597.7
 2.7%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)58.553.6
 4.9%
All Grades Math (Pickering Valley Elementary School)83.483.1
 0.3%
   All Grades Math (Pennsylvania)42.439.3
 3.1%
All Grades Science (Pickering Valley Elementary School)96.894.7
 2.1%
   All Grades Science (Pennsylvania)6865.6
 2.4%
All Grades English Language Arts (Pickering Valley Elementary School)92.988.7
 4.2%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)60.953.8
 7.1%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students456458
 0.4%
African American77
American Indian00
Asian207281
 35.7%
Hispanic129
 25%
Pacific Islander11
White213145
 31.9%
Two or More Races1615
 6.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients3.3%6.3%
 3%


Schools Near Pickering Valley Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Pickering Valley Elementary School

Yes! Pickering Valley Elementary School is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 29th of 1526 Pennsylvania elementary schools.

In the 2023-24 school year, 457 students attended Pickering Valley Elementary School.

Students at Pickering Valley Elementary School are 58% Asian, 33% White, 4% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 2% African American.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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