Best Public Schools in Bethlehem, PA

The city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is home to 25 schools, including 15 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, 4 high schools, and 1 alternative school. The schools in this area serve a diverse student population and showcase a wide range of academic performance, with some standout institutions like Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School and Hanover Elementary School leading the way.

The data reveals significant disparities in academic achievement across the schools in Bethlehem. While Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School boasts an exceptional 97.8% 4-year graduation rate and outperforms state averages on standardized tests, other schools like Fountain Hill Elementary and Marvine Elementary struggle with lower proficiency rates and higher percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, which is often a proxy for socioeconomic status.

The Bethlehem Area School District, which encompasses the majority of the schools in the data set, is ranked 452 out of 606 districts in Pennsylvania and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating that the district as a whole is underperforming. However, the two charter schools in the data set, Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School and Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, both outperform the district and state averages, suggesting that the charter school model may be more effective in this area.