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Southern Middle School

Public Grades 5-8

826^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 873 Pennsylvania Middle Schools

Better than 5% of Pennsylvania middle schools

Summary

Southern Middle School is a public middle school in Reading, Pennsylvania, serving 698 students in grades 5-8. The school is part of the Reading School District, which is ranked 571 out of 606 school districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Southern Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile of Pennsylvania middle schools, with a 0-star rating for most of the past decade. The school's academic performance is particularly concerning, with proficiency rates in PSSA Math and English Language Arts (ELA) significantly lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's PSSA Math proficiency rate was just 4.2%, compared to the Reading School District's 9.8% and the state's 41.7%. The school's performance is especially low for certain student subgroups, such as Hispanic students, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities.

While the challenges faced by Southern Middle School are not unique within the Reading School District, with other middle schools in the district also performing poorly, some nearby schools in other districts, such as Muhlenberg Junior High School and Exeter Township Junior High School, demonstrate significantly higher academic performance. This suggests that improvement is possible, despite the school's relatively high spending per student and low student-teacher ratio, which indicate that the challenges may be related to factors beyond just funding and staffing.

661

Students ?

12.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,428

Per pupil spending ?

105.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

931 Chestnut St
Reading, PA 19602-1958

(610) 371-5803

District: Reading School District

Students who attend Southern Middle School usually attend:

High:

Reading Senior High School

Feeder schools for Southern Middle School:

Elementary:	Amanda E Stout Elementary School
	Tenth & Penn Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

86.1%

African American:

7.9%

White:

4.2%

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Compare Southern Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 7th percentile in 2014 → 5th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Pennsylvania average (10% vs 45% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!Math scores 38 pts below the Pennsylvania average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school10%

District avg14%

Pennsylvania avg45%

826^th of 873

Pennsylvania public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 6 pts since 2016

From bottom 11% (2016) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Pennsylvania Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 5Middle Schools in the Reading School District

571^st of 606Reading School District among Pennsylvania districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	7.9	826 of 873	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	836 of 891	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.1	829 of 893	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.8	830 of 883	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.2	741 of 797	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	4.9	853 of 891	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.9	808 of 861	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	5.4	830 of 877	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	8.1	770 of 870	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	4.3	677 of 728	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	2.8	715 of 758	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	19.3	700 of 834	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	16.0	725 of 825	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	22.4	679 of 805	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	8.4	714 of 770	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	9.1	688 of 753	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	12.3	671 of 749	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	12.4	660 of 736	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	25.5	560 of 687	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	10.7	590 of 663	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	10.3	572 of 643	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	27.2	290 of 393	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	44.1	203 of 408	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	25.3	334 of 421	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	19.8	582 of 643	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.4	626 of 672	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	622 of 660	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	35.0	93 of 145	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.9	118 of 150	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.1	126 of 143	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	8.8	771 of 835	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	802 of 860	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	14.6	326 of 348	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.3	336 of 362	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	331 of 362	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	10.4	796 of 843	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.8	818 of 877	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.7	798 of 874	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	7.4	815 of 839	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.8	827 of 870	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2025)36th percentile+30 vs school

African American (2025)26th percentile+21 vs school

Disabled (2025)9th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)8th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)6th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)6th percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs Pennsylvania (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts15%-34 vs state

Math4%-38 vs state

★

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Schools Near Southern Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSSA Math (2025)						PSSA English Language Arts (2025)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSSA Math 4th Grade	PSSA Math 5th Grade	PSSA Math 6th Grade	PSSA Math 7th Grade	PSSA Math 8th Grade	PSSA Math All Grades	PSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Southern Middle School	Public	5-8	931 Chestnut St	Reading	19602	Berks County	Reading School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 371-5803	661	53	12.5	105.6%	28 (4.2%)	52 (7.9%)	569 (86.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (1.8%)	7.9	826^th of 873 public middle schools	5.4%		7.6	836^th of 891 public middle schools	6.2%	10		7.9	3.8	2.8	2.2	4.2		14.4	13.5	13.4	18.8	15.0	$21,428	$3,134	$18,294
Central Middle School	Public	5-8	215 North 12th St	Reading	19604	Berks County	Reading School District	No	No	No	Yes	(484) 258-7365	1,785	116	15.4	95.7%	93 (5.2%)	102 (5.7%)	1,567 (87.8%)	4 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (1.0%)	8.7	812^th of 873 public middle schools	7.0%		9.1	810^th of 891 public middle schools	9.1%	2		9.7	4.8	3.1	1.8	5.0		10.4	16.4	13.7	21.7	15.3	$20,260	$2,271	$17,989
Southwest Middle School	Public	5-8	300 Chestnut St	Reading	19602	Berks County	Reading School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 371-5934	574	48	12.0	113.6%	29 (5.1%)	42 (7.3%)	498 (86.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	12.8	754^th of 873 public middle schools	13.6%		9.4	804^th of 891 public middle schools	9.8%	50		13.3	10.0	2.5	4.1	7.0		14.4	26.2	24.2	22.8	21.9	$22,294	$2,812	$19,482
West Reading Elementary Center	Public	5-6	421 Chestnut St	West Reading	19611	Berks County	Wyomissing Area School District	No	No	No	No	(610) 374-0739	310	22	14.1	39.7%	181 (58.4%)	13 (4.2%)	91 (29.4%)	9 (2.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.8%)								(n/a)		61.6	45.3			54.0		75.0	70.1			72.7	$18,559	$570	$17,989
Kerry C. Hoffman Intermediate School	Public	4-8	2310 Cumberland Ave	Mount Penn	19606	Berks County	Antietam School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 779-3547	434	38	11.4	59.7%	122 (28.1%)	30 (6.9%)	254 (58.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.0%)								(n/a)	37.0	28.9	17.7	21.8	3.3	22.7	35.6	26.5	38.0	38.5	35.0	34.4	$31,665	$3,861	$27,804
Northeast Middle School	Public	5-8	1216 N 13th St	Reading	19604	Berks County	Reading School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 371-5774	868	67	12.9	106.3%	50 (5.8%)	35 (4.0%)	767 (88.4%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (1.5%)	14.4	738^th of 873 public middle schools	15.5%		13.1	758^th of 891 public middle schools	14.9%	20		13.5	9.5	5.3	4.3	8.2		13.6	29.4	20.1	27.8	22.8	$21,360	$2,390	$18,971
Northwest Middle School	Public	5-8	1000 N Front St	Reading	19601	Berks County	Reading School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 371-5772	821	59	13.9	100.7%	32 (3.9%)	51 (6.2%)	727 (88.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (1.1%)	11.3	771^st of 873 public middle schools	11.7%		10.5	789^th of 891 public middle schools	11.4%	18		3.9	8.8	8.9	4.9	6.7		9.9	20.5	20.0	14.4	16.2	$20,894	$2,551	$18,343
Intermediate School	Public	5-6	600 Governor Dr	Shillington	19607	Berks County	Governor Mifflin School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 775-5083	623	36	17.3	97.8%	297 (47.7%)	25 (4.0%)	245 (39.3%)	18 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.1%)								(n/a)		29.3	38.6			34.1		39.4	54.5			47.2	$15,951	$327	$15,623
Exeter Township Junior High School	Public	7-8	151 E 39th St	Reading	19606	Berks County	Exeter Township School District	No	No	No	No	(610) 779-3320	618	47	13.1	43.2%	424 (68.6%)	35 (5.7%)	125 (20.2%)	8 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (4.2%)	63.5	299^th of 873 public middle schools	65.8%		69.6	256^th of 891 public middle schools	71.3%	43				35.9	37.4	36.7				45.0	51.4	48.2	$13,656	$00	$13,656
Governor Mifflin Middle School	Public	7-8	130 East Lancaster Avenue	Shillington	19607	Berks County	Governor Mifflin School District	No	No	No	No	(610) 775-1465	631	39	16.3	94.5%	329 (52.1%)	35 (5.5%)	229 (36.3%)	9 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.6%)	47.6	466^th of 873 public middle schools	46.6%		44.4	522^nd of 891 public middle schools	41.4%	56				27.9	23.9	25.9				44.9	42.1	43.5	$17,020	$349	$16,671

Frequently Asked Questions about Southern Middle School

How many students attend Southern Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 661 students attended Southern Middle School.

Is Southern Middle School a good school?

Southern Middle School ranks in the bottom 5.4% of Pennsylvania middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Southern Middle School attend?

Students who attend Southern Middle School usually go on to attend Reading Senior High School

What is the racial makeup of Southern Middle School?

Students at Southern Middle School are 86% Hispanic, 8% African American, 4% White, 2% Two or more races.

What district is Southern Middle School in?

Reading School District

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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.