PSSA Test Results Find Lower Merion Schools Among Elite

Lower Merion School District students who took the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment standardized tests last school year performed better than the vast majority of their counterparts around Pennsylvania, according to a state report of all results.

Of the district's 7,360 students in 2011-2012, 3,965 took the math and reading tests: students in third through eighth grades and 11th grade. The combined results placed LMSD fourth in the state in both math and reading. Neighboring Radnor School District placed third in both categories.

The science and writing PSSA tests also found Lower Merion in the top 10 percent of the state. The district's 1,726 takers of the science tests ranked 13th of 500 districts statewide, while the 1,757 students who took the writing test placed 40th.

Lower Merion's fourth-graders did better in math and science than any other grade in the district. Eighth-graders paced the reading-test-takers, and 11th-graders turned in the best writing tests, according to PSSA.

Find full results from every Pennsylvania school district at the Department of Education website. And from the Patch archives, read about the district's performance on PSSAs in 2010-2011.