PA's 25 Best School Districts: Where They Land In New Ranking

PENNSYLVANIA — A slew of Pennsylvania's best school districts have received the highest grade possible in a new ranking that analyzes the nation's best.

The list, education platform Niche’s 2023 Best Schools and Districts, was released Tuesday. One Keystone State district, Radnor Township, was also included in America's top 25 overall, coming in at 14th.

Niche looked at 11,820 school districts nationwide, examining categories including academics, teachers, clubs and activities, diversity, college prep, sports, food, facilities, and administration.

The top districts list looks somewhat similar to the state's top high schools list, with several of the top 25 unsurprisingly landing on both. Here's how Niche stacked them up:

1. Radnor Township, A+
2. Tredyffrin-Easttown, A+
3. North Allegheny, A+
4. Lower Merion School District, A+
5. Fox Chapel Area, A+
6. Mt. Lebanon, A+
7. Unionville-Chadds Ford, A+
8. Upper St. Clair, A+
9. Wallingford-Swarthmore, A+
10. Upper Dublin, A+
11. South Fayette Township, A+
12. Garnet Valley, A+
13. Wissahickon, A+
14. State College Area, A+
15. Great Valley, A+
16. Hampton Township, A+
17. Central Bucks, A+
18. Colonial, A+
19. Spring-Ford Area, A+
20. New Hope, A+
21. Derry Township, A+
22. Lower Moreland, A+
23. Parkland, A+
24. Springfield, A+
25. West Chester Area, A+

RELATED: PA's Best High Schools: New Rankings Released

Niche also ranked 92,743 public schools and 30,112 private schools in the 2023 report. The platform said its rankings were created to provide families with valuable information — both quantitative and qualitative — on schools in their area or in a neighborhood they’re not familiar with yet.

The rankings differ from others that rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance in that it also includes input from students, alumni and parents, as well as quantitative data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities.