Nazareth's PSSA Performance Ranked Second in County

Nazareth Area School District ranks second -- among the eight school districts in Northampton County -- in performance on the (PSSA) Exam.

This according to the Pittsburgh Business Times, which published its 2012 Guide of Western Pennsylvania Schools last week. The guide lists the school district rankings for the Pittsburgh area and the entire state of Pennsylvania.

The newspaper analyzed all the school districts’ performances based on PSSA results. According to www2.bizjournals.com, the formula for the ranking takes into account three years of PSSA test scores in math, reading, writing and science. Three years of scores are considered, with the current year given the most weight.

NASD has been ranked 114 out of 500 districts in the state. This is an improvement from 2011, when the district was ranked 125 out of 500.

Here's how the rankings in Northampton County shook out:

• Saucon Valley School District -- 64 out of 500
• Nazareth Area School District -- 114 out of 500
• Wilson Area School District -- 128 out of 500
• Pen Argyl Area School District -- 207 out of 500
• Northampton Area School District -- 230 out of 500
• Easton Area School District -- 306 out of 500
• Bangor Area School District -- 311 out of 500
• Bethlehem Area School District -- 370 out of 500

In the Top 15 school districts category in Pennsylvania, Allegheny County was the number one county with six school districts represented, followed by Chester County with three school districts, Delaware County with two school districts and Montgomery County with two school districts.

For 2012 rankings, Upper St. Clair School District holds onto its first place title for the seventh year in a row, with Tredyffrin Easttown Township School District dropping to third place and Unionville-Chadds Ford School District taking second place. Radnor Township School District stays in fourth place, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny and Hampton school districts came in at Nos. 5, 6 and 7, respectively. Lower Merion and Central Bucks school districts were next, with South Fayette rounding out the top 10.

For more information on how NASD did on the 2011 PSSAs, see "" on Nazareth Patch.