Southwestern PA's Best School Districts: 18 Make State's Top 100

PITTSBURGH, PA - As the 2018-19 school year kicks off, parents and students heading to their first day of school can see how their school district stacks up against others in the state as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of school districts across the country. The research and informational research company ranks 18 southwestern Pennsylvania districts as among the top 100 in the state.

According to Niche, the best school district in southwestern Pennsylvania is Mt. Lebanon, which ranked third in the state. With an overall grade of A-plus, the district received A-plus grades in academics, teachers, clubs and activities, diversity, college prep and health and safety.

To arrive at these rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. The methodology for each category of ranking varied.(Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn't enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

According to Niche, these are the best school districts in the region, listed by their state ranking. Those that finished in the top 100 are listed. The area's largest district, the Pittsburgh Public Schools, was not among the 280 Pennsylvania districts that were ranked numerically of the overall 500.

3. Mt. Lebanon
6. North Allegheny
7. Upper St. Clair
10. Fox Chapel
13. South Fayette
24. Hampton
42. North Hills
45. Pine-Richland
50. Peters
52. Moon Area
64. Franklin Regional
70. Montour
80. Penn-Trafford
84. Seneca Valley
87. Hempfield Area
91. Baldwin-Whitehall
94. Bethel Park
95. Avonworth

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