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Best Middle Schools in Reading, PA

Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the Pennsylvania Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the Pennsylvania Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

At a glance

Schools

7,871

Students

Districts

Top rankedExeter Township Junior High School299^th of 873 Pennsylvania middle schools

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Biggest riser

Southwest Middle School up 50 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Southwest Middle School 12 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

0★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

The city of Reading, Pennsylvania is home to 9 middle schools, with a mix of public schools within the Reading School District and the Exeter Township School District. These schools serve students in grades 5-8 and provide a range of educational opportunities in the area.

Based on the data, two schools stand out as potential high-performers: Exeter Township Junior High School and Reiffton School, both part of the Exeter Township School District. These schools have significantly higher proficiency rates in Math and English Language Arts compared to the state and district averages. In contrast, the schools within the Reading School District appear to be lower-performing, with most ranking in the bottom quarter of Pennsylvania middle schools and having proficiency rates well below state averages.

The data also reveals notable differences in key metrics between the two districts. The Exeter Township schools have around 42% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, while the Reading School District schools have 100% of students qualifying. Additionally, the per-student spending ranges from $13,489 at C.E. Cole Intermediate School to $20,011 at Southern Middle School. These disparities in socioeconomic factors and funding may contribute to the significant performance gap observed between the districts.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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/reduced lunch (2023-24)	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
Reiffton School	Public	5-6	4355 Dunham Drive	Reading	19606	Berks County	Exeter Township School District	No	No	No	No	(610) 779-7640	542	37	14.6	42.2%	362 (66.8%)	25 (4.6%)	115 (21.2%)	12 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (5.2%)								(n/a)		37.3	49.0			42.9		47.1	56.6			51.8	$10,696	$00	$10,696
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	42.0%	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
Muhlenberg Junior High School	Public	7-9	801 E Bellevue Ave	Reading	19605	Berks County	Muhlenberg School District	No	No	No	No	(610) 921-8034	1,016	65	15.7	—	204 (20.1%)	84 (8.3%)	648 (63.8%)	11 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	66 (6.5%)	29	606^th of 873 public middle schools	30.6%		29.2	624^th of 891 public middle schools	30.0%	18				20.3	18.6	19.4				26.5	34.1	30.3	$15,650	$703	$14,947
C E Cole Intermediate School	Public	4-6	801 Bellevue Avenue	Reading	19605	Berks County	Muhlenberg School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 921-8000	986	60	16.4	—	214 (21.7%)	78 (7.9%)	578 (58.6%)	13 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	101 (10.2%)								(n/a)	26.5	18.2	18.9			20.9	23.7	28.8	32.4			28.5	$14,501	$1,528	$12,973
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	—	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
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	—	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
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	—	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
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	—	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	—	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

Cities Near Reading

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
West Reading	1.06 mi	1
Wyomissing	2.29 mi	3	264^th
Mount Penn	2.85 mi	1	663^rd
Shillington	3.28 mi	5	629^th
West Lawn	3.48 mi	2	234^th

See the top PA Pennsylvania cities

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.