Best Middle Schools in Scranton, PA

The city of Scranton, Pennsylvania is home to three middle schools serving grades 6-8: Northeast Intermediate School, West Scranton Intermediate School, and South Scranton Intermediate School. These schools face significant challenges, with West Scranton Intermediate standing out as the highest performer among the three.

West Scranton Intermediate School has the highest overall proficiency rates in both Math and English Language Arts compared to the other two schools and the district/state averages. For example, in 2024-2025, West Scranton had 35.3% of students proficient or better in ELA, compared to 19.3% at Northeast Intermediate and 18.1% at South Scranton Intermediate. West Scranton also had the highest proficiency rates in Math for all grade levels. While not the top performer, South Scranton Intermediate stands out for having the highest percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients at 100%, suggesting the school serves a more economically disadvantaged student population.

Overall, the schools in Scranton generally perform below the state averages in both Math and ELA proficiency. All three schools had a 1.4% dropout rate in 2023-2024, which is on the higher side. Spending per student ranged from $14,676 at West Scranton to $17,274 at South Scranton, and the student-teacher ratios were relatively low, ranging from 13.1 at Northeast Intermediate to 14.5 at West Scranton. These findings suggest the schools have the resources to provide more individualized attention to students, and targeted interventions and support programs could help improve academic outcomes.