None of Carbon and Schuylkill's school districts has been listed in the Top 100 public schools in Pennsylvania. There is one in Monroe County, four in Lehigh County and three in Northampton County, but zero in Carbon and Schuylkill. How come?

The ratings are released annually by niche.com, which says it "rigorously analyzes dozens of public data and compiles millions of reviews to produce comprehensive rankings, report cards and profiles for K-12 schools."The company compiles the lists for each state to help taxpayers assess the adequacy of their own districts and assist those who are planning to move to a new district.The ratings are also based on U.S. Department of Education data and more than 60 million K-12 school reviews and survey responses, test scores and college data.Specifically, the areas that the survey investigates include academics, teachers, clubs and activities, administration, food, diversity, college readiness, health and safety, sports, and resources and facilities.Among area districts, the Parkland School District in Lehigh County placed highest - 31st - among the approximately 500 districts in Pennsylvania with an A-plus rating. Parkland had top marks in all areas except "diversity," where it received a B-plus.The other area districts that placed in the top 100 are: Southern Lehigh (in the Coopersburg area of southern Lehigh County), 68th; Nazareth, 71st; East Penn (Emmaus area of Lehigh County), 73rd; Saucon Valley (Hellertown area of Northampton County), 76th; Northwestern Lehigh, 92nd; Stroudsburg Area, 95th and Wilson Area (near Easton), 99th.In Carbon County, Weatherly placed highest with a B-plus rating; the Lehighton Area district has been given a B rating; Jim Thorpe, B-minus; Palmerton, C-plus, and Panther Valley had the lowest with a C-minus.The Pottsville School District received the higher rating between the two local districts in Schuylkill County with a B-minus; Tamaqua was rated B-minus.In Monroe County, Pleasant Valley had a B rating, while Northern Lehigh in Lehigh County was given a B-minus rating.With the exception of the Stroudsburg district, which was rated 9th best in diversity in the state, most of the other area districts were rated at C or B in this category.Northwestern received an A-minus rating in placing 92nd in the state. It had A's and B's in all of the categories but a C in diversity.Here are how the local and area school districts that did not place in the top 100 fared: Weatherly, 182nd; Pleasant Valley, 206th; Lehighton, 216th; Jim Thorpe, 306; Pottsville, 314th; Northern Lehigh, 351st; Tamaqua, 360th; Palmerton, 384th, and Panther Valley, 477th.Panther Valley scored B-minus in clubs and activities and health and safety, C-plus in college readiness and C in academics and teachers. Its students showed 46 percent proficiency in reading and just 21 percent proficiency in math; its graduation rate was 72 percent, and students had an average SAT score of 1,050.The Tredyffrin-Easttown School District in eastern Chester County was rated not only the top district in Pennsylvania but also number one in the entire United States.While this kind of report card is not the be-all and end-all on the overall quality and effectiveness of school districts, it is a good measuring stick since it does assess many different areas from academics to extracurricular activities to resources available to students and teachers.If we are to trust its validity, the message is clear that some of our local districts have some serious work to do to improve their educational delivery system.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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