The bell has chimed and class is in session once again. We could think of no better time to take a closer look at the region’s public and private high schools, to see how they are preparing students for the next phases of their lives.
Public high schools in the Philadelphia suburbs have earned a reputation for not only fostering academic growth but also helping students grow outside the classroom. Such preparation means they will be well equipped to thrive wherever they end up next, whether it may be at an institution of higher education, at the helm of one’s own business or otherwise finding one’s way.
In the following pages we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to the region’s top public high schools, using the most recent data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other sources as our guide. We’ve also spoken with a number of school administrators, who shared their insights regarding the most pressing challenges high schools face in preparing kids for the future—and, more importantly, how their institutions are meeting the challenge head on.
Although we understand that the true character of any school may not necessarily be reflected in the numbers, such data can be useful in determining how these schools are equipping students with the tools they need on a path toward a promising future, regardless of where they may go after the mortarboards fly.
Suburban Life and Philadelphia Life have used their best efforts to compile information for this list but do not guarantee that the information provided is complete or accurate.
BUCKS COUNTY
Bensalem High School
Total Enrollment: 1,889
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 459 | Math - 493 | Writing - 446
% of College-bound Graduates: 77.8%
Bristol Junior/Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 328
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 459 | Math - 469 | Writing - 442
% of College-bound Graduates: 77%
Central Bucks High School East
Total Enrollment: 1,647
Student/Teacher Ratio: 18:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 557 | Math - 576 | Writing - 567
% of College-bound Graduates: 92.6%
Central Bucks High School South
Total Enrollment: 1,882
Student/Teacher Ratio: 19:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 525 | Math - 553 | Writing - 537
% of College-bound Graduates: 92.3%
Central Bucks High School West
Total Enrollment: 1,523
Student/Teacher Ratio: 17:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 534 | Math - 559 | Writing - 534
% of College-bound Graduates: 89.7%
Council Rock High School North
Total Enrollment: 1,833
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 557 | Math - 577 | Writing - 558
% of College-bound Graduates: 94.2%
Council Rock High School South
Total Enrollment: 2,111
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 538 | Math - 565 | Writing - 534
% of College-bound Graduates: 96%
Harry S. Truman High School
Total Enrollment: 1,506
Student/Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 442 | Math - 465 | Writing - 425
% of College-bound Graduates: 72%
Morrisville Borough High School
Total Enrollment: 225
Student/Teacher Ratio: 11:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 453 | Math – 471 | Writing - 450
% of College-bound Graduates: 65.1%
Neshaminy High School
Total Enrollment: 2,555
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 499 | Math - 524 | Writing - 480
% of College-bound Graduates: 91.9%
New Hope-Solebury High School
Total Enrollment: 497
Student/Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 554 | Math - 564 | Writing - 550
% of College-bound Graduates: 96.1%
Palisades High School
Total Enrollment: 617
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 508 | Math - 538 | Writing - 516
% of College-bound Graduates: 74.5%
Pennridge High School
Total Enrollment: 2,313
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 514 | Math - 536 | Writing - 503
% of College-bound Graduates: 87.3%
Pennsbury Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 3,174
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 522 | Math - 536 | Writing - 513
% of College-bound Graduates: 84.5%
Quakertown Community Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,157
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 504 | Math - 522 | Writing - 486
% of College-bound Graduates: 84.4%
William Tennent High School
Total Enrollment: 1,821
Student/Teacher Ratio: 17:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 486 | Math - 497 | Writing - 466
% of College-bound Graduates: 84.1%
CHESTER COUNTY
Avon Grove High School
Total Enrollment: 1,811
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 512 | Math - 536 | Writing - 495
% of College-bound Graduates: 86.9%
Coatesville Area Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 2,122
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 452 | Math - 445 | Writing - 425
% of College-bound Graduates: 69.2%
Conestoga Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 2,054
Student/Teacher Ratio: 18:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 600 | Math - 611 | Writing - 598
% of College-bound Graduates: 98.2%
Downingtown High School East
Total Enrollment: 1,609
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 541 | Math - 560 | Writing - 540
% of College-bound Graduates: 91.9%
Downingtown High School West
Total Enrollment: 1,467
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 529 | Math - 552 | Writing - 514
% of College-bound Graduates: 88.5%
Great Valley High School
Total Enrollment: 1,241
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 567 | Math - 581 | Writing - 556
% of College-bound Graduates: 96.1%
Henderson Senior School
Total Enrollment: 1,275
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 517 | Math - 529 | Writing - 503
% of College-bound Graduates: 91.3%
Kennett High School
Total Enrollment: 1,249
Student/Teacher Ratio: 17:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 509 | Math - 531 | Writing - 493
% of College-bound Graduates: 78.7%
Owen J. Roberts High School
Total Enrollment: 1,570
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 528 | Math - 529 | Writing - 512
% of College-bound Graduates: 91.5%
Oxford Area High School
Total Enrollment: 1,259
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 511 | Math - 507 | Writing - 477
% of College-bound Graduates: 75.2%
Phoenixville Area High School
Total Enrollment: 1,000
Student/Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 526 | Math - 541 | Writing - 530
% of College-bound Graduates: 83.5%
Unionville High School
Total Enrollment: 1,305
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 573 | Math - 587 | Writing - 571
% of College-bound Graduates: 95.8%
West Chester Bayard Rustin High School
Total Enrollment: 1,296
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 531 | Math - 541 | Writing - 516
% of College-bound Graduates: 94.5%
West Chester East High School
Total Enrollment: 1,326
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 524 | Math - 536 | Writing - 518
% of College-bound Graduates: 93.5%
DELWARE COUNTY
Academy Park High School
Total Enrollment: 1,174
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 392 | Math - 401 | Writing - 361
% of College-bound Graduates: 71%
Chester High School
Total Enrollment: 841
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 371 | Math - 364 | Writing - 340
% of College-bound Graduates: N/A
Chichester Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 989
Student/Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 453 | Math - 454 | Writing - 414
% of College-bound Graduates: 65.2%
Garnet Valley High School
Total Enrollment: 1,545
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 524 | Math - 556 | Writing - 525
% of College-bound Graduates: 91.8%
Haverford Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,737
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 517 | Math - 541 | Writing - 505
% of College-bound Graduates: 93.3%
Interboro High School
Total Enrollment: 1,143
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 467 | Math - 473 | Writing - 446
% of College-bound Graduates: 80.3%
Marple Newtown High School
Total Enrollment: 1,163
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 504 | Math - 519 | Writing - 495
% of College-bound Graduates: 85.8%
Penncrest High School
Total Enrollment: 1,265
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 535 | Math - 550 | Writing - 530
% of College-bound Graduates: 94%
Penn Wood Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,473
Student/Teacher Ratio: 17:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 394 | Math - 404 | Writing - 365
% of College-bound Graduates: 60.3%
Radnor Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,180
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 586 | Math - 616 | Writing - 588
% of College-bound Graduates: 91.2%
Ridley High School
Total Enrollment: 1,894
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 476 | Math - 492 | Writing - 447
% of College-bound Graduates: 83.2%
Springfield High School
Total Enrollment: 1,221
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 499 | Math – 523 | Writing - 489
% of College-bound Graduates: 93%
Strath Haven High School
Total Enrollment: 1,152
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 564 | Math - 586 | Writing - 559
% of College-bound Graduates: 89.3%
Sun Valley High School
Total Enrollment: 1,053
Student/Teacher Ratio: 17:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 472 | Math - 495 | Writing - 461
% of College-bound Graduates: 84.7%
Upper Darby High School
Total Enrollment: 3,638
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 451 | Math - 472 | Writing - 428
% of College-bound Graduates: 68.8%
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Abington Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,745
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 509 | Math - 522 | Writing - 503
% of College-bound Graduates: 88.6%
Cheltenham High School
Total Enrollment: 1,473
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 514 | Math - 509 | Writing - 498
% of College-bound Graduates: 86.7%
Harriton High School of Lower Merion
Total Enrollment: 1,179
Student/Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 581| Math - 593 | Writing - 576
% of College-bound Graduates: 94.6%
Hatboro-Horsham Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,630
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 505 | Math - 537 | Writing - 503
% of College-bound Graduates: 89.3%
Jenkintown Middle School High School
Total Enrollment: 285
Student/Teacher Ratio: 11:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 544 | Math - 546 | Writing - 561
% of College-bound Graduates: 88.7%
Lower Merion High School
Total Enrollment: 1,293
Student/Teacher Ratio: 11:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 566 | Math - 574 | Writing - 550
% of College-bound Graduates: 94.6%
Lower Moreland High School
Total Enrollment: 726
Student/Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 533 | Math - 556 | Writing - 548
% of College-bound Graduates: 94.6%
Methacton High School
Total Enrollment: 1,702
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 535 | Math - 559 | Writing - 524
% of College-bound Graduates: 90.8%
Norristown Area High School
Total Enrollment: 1,770
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 428 | Math - 437 | Writing - 408
% of College-bound Graduates: 85.7%
North Penn Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 3,038
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 529 | Math - 551 | Writing - 518
% of College-bound Graduates: 89.7%
Perkiomen Valley High School
Total Enrollment: 1,825
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16: 1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 534 | Math - 552 | Writing - 519
% of College-bound Graduates: 86.9%
Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School
Total Enrollment: 1,463
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 516 | Math - 527 | Writing - 510
% of College-bound Graduates: 88.8%
Pottsgrove High School
Total Enrollment: 1,001
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 500 | Math - 503 | Writing - 486
% of College-bound Graduates: 75.4%
Pottstown High School
Total Enrollment: 770
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 467 | Math - 472 | Writing - 447
% of College-bound Graduates: 68.5%
Souderton Area High School
Total Enrollment: 2,131
Student/Teacher Ratio: 19:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 516 | Math - 527 | Writing - 506
% of College-bound Graduates: 86.1%
Springfield Township High School
Total Enrollment: 615
Student/Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 540 | Math - 533 | Writing - 537
% of College-bound Graduates: 89%
Spring-Ford Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,693
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 514 | Math - 541 | Writing - 504
% of College-bound Graduates: 91.7%
Upper Dublin High School
Total Enrollment: 1,421
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 545 | Math - 568 | Writing - 554
% of College-bound Graduates: 92.7%
Upper Merion Area High School
Total Enrollment: 1,123
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 508 | Math - 518 | Writing - 487
% of College-bound Graduates: 82.4%
Upper Moreland High School
Total Enrollment: 985
Student/Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 514 | Math - 519 | Writing - 485
% of College-bound Graduates: 80%
Upper Perkiomen High School
Total Enrollment: 936
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 516 | Math - 544 | Writing - 510
% of College-bound Graduates: 69.2%
Wissahickon Senior High School
Total Enrollment: 1,412
Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Avg. SAT Score: Verbal - 535 | Math - 565 | Writing - 539
% of College-bound Graduates: 94.4%
Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Education; and the National Center for Education Statistics
Going Private
How private high schools prepare students for life’s next steps
Although the Philadelphia suburbs boast a number of excellent public schools, the region also has some truly exceptional private schools. Here, students are all but assured of matriculating to four-year colleges and universities, all while having been challenged academically and nurtured through a structured system of values. In addition, private schools tend to offer intimate class sizes with greater access to highly skilled educators (see the chart below for schools with some of the most impressive student/teacher ratios) and a diversity of science, technology, engineering and arts programs, among other clubs and activities. Furthermore, most offer Advanced Placement and honors classes in some, if not all, subjects.
Although such perks come at a cost—ranging from $6,450 per year for diocesan Catholic high schools to more than $50,000 per year for the most elite boarding schools—the region’s best private high schools have one goal in mind: shaping students into well-rounded individuals who are prepared for and eager to embrace the next phase of their lives.
High School Student-to-Teacher Ratio
The Phelps School, Malvern 4:1
Solebury School, New Hope 6:1
The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr 7:1
Church Farm School, Exton 7:1
The Hill School, Pottstown 7:1
The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr 7:1
Villa Maria Academy High School, Malvern 7:1
Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn 8:1
Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Bryn Mawr 8:1
Friends’ Central School, Wynnewood 8:1
The George School, Newtown 8:1
Germantown Academy, Fort Washington 8:1
Princeton Day School, Princeton, N.J. 8:1
Westtown School, West Chester 8:1
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, Villanova 9:1
Coventry Christian Schools, Pottstown 9:1
The Haverford School, Haverford 9:1
Malvern Preparatory School, Malvern 9:1
Devon Preparatory School, Devon 10:1
West Catholic Preparatory School, Philadelphia 10:1
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics; school websites
Rising to the Challenge
Compared to when their parents and grandparents were in school, the world is a much different place for today’s high school students. Technology is now ubiquitous. The pace of life has quickened. There are more demands on everyone’s time. Student bodies are more diverse, and also more accepting, than ever before. And, of course, the pressure to perform has intensified. We asked administrators from several local schools to share their thoughts on the most pressing challenges in terms of helping students prepare for the future. They responded in kind, while also providing insight into how their schools are rising to the task.
Sister Regina Ryan, principal, Villa Maria Academy High School, Malvern
“One of the biggest challenges for Villa Maria is preparing our students for jobs that don’t exist yet. Given the speed of technological development, students will have to adapt and learn throughout their college and work careers. This flexibility requires critical thinking and problem solving—skills you don’t acquire just reading a textbook. They need to think independently, synthesizing new information with what they have learned.
“To foster these critical skills, [we provide] our students with rigorous core coursework delivered in both traditional and modern ways, with a focus on project-based goals and collaborative work. We are emphasizing experiential opportunities as well, including a senior Capstone project that requires students to investigate essential questions through both research and direct experience with professionals in their chosen fields. The girls apply their abstract learning directly to the concrete world of work.
“At Villa Maria, we go beyond the classroom to develop the whole person. The girls need not only the intellectual skills but also the self-confidence to believe they can tackle any problem. Every aspect of school life reinforces Christian ideals of service, spirituality and personal integrity. Our commitment to core values, combined with innovative real-world experiences, prepares Villa Maria girls to be women ready to meet the future head on.”
Barry Edward Breen, president, Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, N.J.
“The students I see entering our doors today are probably the most generous, the most accepting, and the most open I have seen over my 30 years as head of school. Yes, technology has impacted their attention span, made their world flatter and has stretched their global vision and opportunities. However, in many ways, their academic needs are similar to what young people have always needed. As educators, we need to engage them, excite them, and challenge them to participate in the joys of life-long learning. We need to give them the tools and teach them the habits of discipline.
“But the world they have grown up in has been rocked by threats of terrorism, by recession and high unemployment, by families separated by divorce, by social and religious institutions whose leaders have let them down, and by technological advances that have isolated them from direct personal engagement and has led them to expect that they can have it all on demand. This world has left them emotionally insecure in many ways. They search for meaning but find none. They long to belong, but find little evidence that loyalty is rewarded. They seek love, but are not confident in their ability to commit to lasting relationships. They look for heroes but find only broken leaders of flawed and hypocritical social institutions to laugh at on late-night TV shows.
“At Notre Dame High School, we … present a rich and rigorous curriculum with a schedule that allows for longer chunks of time to explore subject matter in depth, delivered by teachers committed to teaching basic skills of writing, researching and creative thinking. We allow experiential learning in teams and provide the technological tools that facilitate that process. We prepare students for higher education.
“And then, as a Catholic school, we do so much more. We deeply involve our students in thousands of hours of service to the local community. We teach them the sustaining values that have been passed on to us from our parents and their parents before them. We envelop them in a community that prays together, that is loyal to each other, that cares for them as individuals. We teach them resilience. And we give them a sense of meaning within the context of our faith and expose them to understanding the power of God’s love for each one of them and the strength that comes from that realization.”
Brother James L. Butler, president, La Salle College High School, Wyndmoor
“I certainly know which challenge is getting less pressing all the time: mastering information, memorizing facts. The universe of available knowledge is expanding exponentially. Knowing how to assess and employ that knowledge is certainly of value, as are all those skills and habits of mind now grouped together as ‘21st century learning’: technological and media literacy; global vision; critical thinking; problem solving and collaborative skills.
“However, students go to college all the time with that ‘21st century learning’ bag packed and still don’t succeed. What’s most pressing is the need to prepare persons who are autonomous and committed, which is not as paradoxical as it seems. Young people, as they transition away from parental authority and guidance, need to have a sense of self, an appreciation for their own efficacy, for their capacity to make moral and ethical decisions. Likewise, they need to be committed to people, causes and ideas. They need to be able to draw a line in the sand, to say, ‘That’s a boundary I won’t cross,’ to be able to see the right and choose the right.
“I think we at La Salle College High School prepare students for this next stage of their lives by allowing them to spend the prior four years in an inclusive community where respect for persons is paramount. Academic instruction, character education, the retreat and service programs all stress the same timeless skill: reflective living, hopefully progressively more grounded in the spirit of faith.”
Sister Matthew Anita MacDonald, head of school, Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Bryn Mawr
“The most pressing challenge to me is really twofold: ensuring that technology is as current as is possible; and ensuring that young women are confident that their technological skills are rooted in values that promote the good of society.
“In any 21st century school, staying abreast of and trying to anticipate where technology is going is a challenge of vision and finance. Sacred Heart has a one-to-one iPad program and multiple computer labs. It also offers students a certification program in Microsoft Office. The school sponsors an institutional program of Tech Tuesdays for its faculty because the school believes a tech program is only as strong as its weakest faculty member may be.
“Since Sacred Heart is committed to preparing its students to assume leadership, skills alone will not guarantee the quality of that leadership, so commitment to the Network of Sacred Heart’s ‘Goals and Criteria’ is integral to the program. These goals mold the character and root the students in life-long values of responsible digital citizenship.”
Mariandl Hufford, director of the Center for the Advancement of Girls, The Agnes Irwin School, Bryn Mawr
“Constant change will be the norm in the future of this generation of school-age children, and we must prepare them to be adaptable and nimble in the midst of that change, while staying true to the enduring values of a strong liberal arts education. Schools strive to give their students the foundational knowledge they need to be wise decision makers. In order to do that, they must teach students how to be agile of thought, versatile in unfamiliar circumstances, and creative in their critical reflection on the myriad problems they will need to solve.
“For a girls’ school, we must also heed an additional call to action. Knowing that our girls will face a social structure in which women are still not entirely equal—we only have to look at the meager ranks of women in the highest leadership positions—we must equip our students with the skills and confidence to alter that structure.
“The Agnes Irwin School employs a varied approach to addressing this challenge. We do so through girl-centric teaching and a vibrant curriculum that engages students in vigorous learning. We also embed, in all of our divisions, opportunities for our girls to flex their leadership muscles.”
Olen Kalkus, headmaster, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Princeton, N.J.
“In today’s high-tech and high-stakes testing environment, most people would identify developing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills in our students as ‘a school’s most pressing challenge.’ However, there is a growing awareness that the skills most strongly related to post secondary academic success, and success in life in general, are what psychologists refer to as ‘noncognitive skills.’ These are skills such as perseverance, passion, grit, self-discipline, resilience, empathy and self-reliance. This research indicates that these skills are developed by facing difficulties, overcoming failure, navigating rough patches and basically doing more on one’s own than many parents and schools allow today.
“At Princeton Academy, we have been aware of and shared this research for many years. One way we develop these skills is by implementing school-based projects to teach STEM skills at each grade level. For example, each student must design, run and analyze a controlled experiment during each of his four years in our middle school. He then must present his results to a practicing scientist in a group forum. Some of the best student learning comes when hypotheses are not supported by the data, forcing them to analyze their data and design to look for errors and improvements. This reinforces the idea that failure is often a part of the iterative process of learning.”
