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South Mountain Elementary School

Q: Is South Mountain Elementary School a good school?

South Mountain Elementary School ranks 370 th of 1511 Pennsylvania elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

370^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,511 Pennsylvania Elementary Schools

Better than 76% of Pennsylvania elementary schools

Summary

South Mountain Elementary School is a public elementary school in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, serving 415 students in grades K-5 as part of the Northern York County School District. This high-performing school consistently outperforms state and district averages in both Math and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency across all grade levels.

In the 2024-2025 school year, South Mountain Elementary's overall Math proficiency rate was 58.1%, compared to the district's 45.2% and the state's 41.7%. In ELA, the school's proficiency rate was 68.3%, significantly higher than the district's 57.4% and the state's 48.5%. The school's performance is particularly strong in 5th grade, where the Math and ELA proficiency rates were 64.8% and 73.9%, respectively, outpacing the district and state. While the school's male students and White students perform well, the performance of students with low socioeconomic status and students with disabilities is more average.

Compared to nearby schools, Wellsville Campus and Northern Elementary School, South Mountain Elementary outperforms them in both Math and ELA proficiency. However, the nearby Dillsburg Elementary School, which is also part of the Northern York County School District, performs similarly or even slightly better than South Mountain Elementary in some areas, such as 3rd grade Math and ELA.

389

Students ?

12.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,427

Per pupil spending ?

28.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

711 South Mountain Road
Dillsburg, PA 17019-8720

(717) 432-8691

District: Northern York County School District

Students who attend South Mountain Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Northern Middle School
High:	Northern High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

90.0%

Hispanic:

4.1%

Asian:

2.1%

See top rated Pennsylvania elementary schools

Compare South Mountain Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 56th percentile in 2015 → 76th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Pennsylvania average (63% vs 45% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 24% of Pennsylvania elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 20 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school63%

District avg51%

Pennsylvania avg45%

370^th of 1,511

Pennsylvania public elementary schools ?

Top 24%▲ up 20 pts since 2015

From top 44% (2015) to top 24% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Pennsylvania Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4Elementary Schools in the Northern York County School District

184^th of 606Northern York County 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	75.2	370 of 1511	75.5%	★★★★☆
2024	61.9	666 of 1526	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	66.0	574 of 1534	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	72.8	437 of 1534	71.5%	★★★★☆
2021	63.1	570 of 1433	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	49.7	934 of 1544	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	50.1	916 of 1530	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2017	60.1	737 of 1547	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2016	58.9	787 of 1554	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2015	62.0	653 of 1474	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2014	64.1	641 of 1467	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2013	71.4	463 of 1519	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2012	69.3	576 of 1599	64.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	69.8	510 of 1597	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	67.2	570 of 1579	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2009	77.0	286 of 1549	81.5%	★★★★☆
2008	75.1	340 of 1551	78.1%	★★★★☆
2007	74.9	368 of 1555	76.3%	★★★★☆
2006	63.9	619 of 1545	59.9%	★★★☆☆
2005	77.2	261 of 1299	79.9%	★★★★☆
2004	74.1	364 of 1308	72.2%	★★★★☆
2003	41.7	869 of 1302	33.3%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2024	36.7	679 of 1084	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	47.1	502 of 1043	51.9%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	64.9	528 of 1466	64.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.8	719 of 1488	51.7%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	53.0	674 of 1369	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	50.2	779 of 1432	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.5	553 of 1414	60.9%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	81.7	245 of 1475	83.4%	★★★★☆
2024	63.4	585 of 1495	60.9%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	64.9	419 of 1201	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	45.8	719 of 1229	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	50.1	636 of 1236	48.5%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Male (2025)83rd percentile+8 vs school

White (2025)65th percentile-10 vs school

Female (2025)64th percentile-12 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)51st percentile-25 vs school

Disabled (2024)37th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Pennsylvania (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts68%+20 vs state

Math58%+16 vs state

★

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Schools Near South Mountain Elementary 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 3rd Grade	PSSA Math 4th Grade	PSSA Math 5th Grade	PSSA Math All Grades	PSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Mountain Elementary School	Public	K-5	711 South Mountain Road	Dillsburg	17019	York County	Northern York County School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 432-8691	389	32	12.1	28.8%	350 (90.0%)	7 (1.8%)	16 (4.1%)	8 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (1.8%)	75.2	370^th of 1511 public elementary schools	75.5%		61.9	666^th of 1526 public elementary schools	56.4%	296	58.8	48.2	64.8	58.1	69.1	60.0	73.9	68.3	$15,427	$538	$14,889
Dillsburg Elementary School	Public	K-5	202 S Chestnut St	Dillsburg	17019	York County	Northern York County School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 432-8691	440	32	13.8	24.8%	387 (88.0%)	4 (0.9%)	21 (4.8%)	11 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.6%)	84.4	208^th of 1511 public elementary schools	86.2%		80.2	280^th of 1526 public elementary schools	81.7%	72	76.0	60.7	67.1	67.8	72.0	70.9	72.6	71.8	$15,540	$343	$15,197
Northern Elementary School	Public	K-5	657 S Baltimore St	Dillsburg	17019	York County	Northern York County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(717) 432-8691	397	30	13.4	37.5%	318 (80.1%)	7 (1.8%)	32 (8.1%)	23 (5.8%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.3%)	49.7	827^th of 1511 public elementary schools	45.3%		49.5	872^nd of 1526 public elementary schools	42.9%	45	65.0	40.7	19.1	41.3	63.3	45.3	42.7	50.6	$16,665	$1,955	$14,711
Monroe Elementary School	Public	K-5	1240 Boiling Springs Rd	Boiling Springs	17007	Cumberland County	Cumberland Valley School District	No	No	No	Yes	(717) 697-0028	512	35	14.7	30.3%	402 (78.5%)	13 (2.5%)	35 (6.8%)	42 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.9%)	61.7	620^th of 1511 public elementary schools	59.0%		67.4	548^th of 1526 public elementary schools	64.1%	72	54.7	64.6	40.4	52.3	51.2	62.0	50.5	54.2	$14,571	$109	$14,462
Iron Forge Elementary School	Public	3-5	4 Academy Street Suite 200	Boiling Springs	17007	Cumberland County	South Middleton School District	No	No	No	Yes	(717) 258-6484	468	34	13.8	40.2%	349 (74.6%)	11 (2.4%)	8 (1.7%)	74 (15.8%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	22 (4.7%)	58.4	682^nd of 1511 public elementary schools	54.9%		68.6	522^nd of 1526 public elementary schools	65.8%	160	66.1	63.2	49.4	59.7	42.0	54.5	38.3	44.6	$15,228	$1,087	$14,142
Shepherdstown Elementary School	Public	1-3	1849 S York St	Mechanicsburg	17055	Cumberland County	Mechanicsburg Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(717) 691-4589	283	20	13.8	35.0%	193 (68.2%)	25 (8.8%)	27 (9.5%)	22 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.7%)								(n/a)	64.7			64.7	69.4			69.4	$16,042	$557	$15,486
Upper Allen Elementary School	Public	1-3	1790 S Market St	Mechanicsburg	17055	Cumberland County	Mechanicsburg Area School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 691-4594	321	25	13.0	33.6%	195 (60.7%)	46 (14.3%)	17 (5.3%)	43 (13.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.9%)								(n/a)	62.8			62.8	62.8			62.8	$16,602	$480	$16,122
Wellsville Campus	Public	K-5	1060 Zeigler Road	Wellsville	17365	York County	Northern York County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(717) 432-8691	244	20	12.0	38.5%	225 (92.2%)	1 (0.4%)	12 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.5%)	55.4	741^st of 1511 public elementary schools	51.0%		58	740^th of 1526 public elementary schools	51.5%	1	56.4	62.9	31.8	49.5	56.4	64.7	31.7	50.0	$18,680	$1,055	$17,625
Mt Holly Springs Elementary School	Public	K-5	110 Mooreland Ave	Mount Holly Springs	17065	Cumberland County	Carlisle Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(717) 240-6800	215	18	11.7	62.8%	165 (76.7%)	11 (5.1%)	22 (10.2%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (7.0%)	30.5	1078^th of 1511 public elementary schools	28.7%		23.5	1175^th of 1526 public elementary schools	23.0%	97	51.6	25.9	23.7	33.3	42.0	29.6	34.2	35.4	$19,313	$1,026	$18,287
W.G. Rice Elementary School	Public	K-2	805 Holly Pike	Mount Holly Springs	17065	Cumberland County	South Middleton School District	No	No	No	Yes	(717) 258-6484	453	35	13.1	45.7%	339 (74.8%)	11 (2.4%)	8 (1.8%)	73 (16.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.9%)								(n/a)									$15,918	$1,128	$14,790

Frequently Asked Questions about South Mountain Elementary School

Is South Mountain Elementary School a good school?

South Mountain Elementary School ranks 370^th of 1511 Pennsylvania elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of South Mountain Elementary School attend?

Students who attend South Mountain Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Northern Middle School
High : Northern High School

What district is South Mountain Elementary School in?

Northern York County School District

How many students attend South Mountain Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 389 students attended South Mountain Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of South Mountain Elementary School?

Students at South Mountain Elementary School are 90% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% African American, 2% Two or more races.

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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.