Philly, suburban high schools dominate list of best SAT scores in Pennsylvania

Pa. Department of Education released data for 2016 college admissions test

The 2016 average SAT scores for each of the public high schools in the state were released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education last week.

Nineteen of the Top 25 highest-scoring schools on the college admissions test are located in the five-county Philadelphia region, and for the 16th consecutive year, Julia R. Masterman High School students posted the highest average SAT score – 1978 – in the state. (The education department has reports on its website dating back to 2001.)

Masterman is a public magnet school where students are admitted based on their academic performance – as are the other six School District of Philadelphia schools ranking in the Top 10 in the city.

The average results for 647 high schools across Pennsylvania were included in the report. An additional 31 high schools were listed in the data without scores because fewer than 11 students took the college admissions test.

In addition to the number of students who took the SAT in 2016, the complete report lists each high school's average reading, math and writing score. On each of those three tests, students score between 200 and 800 points, for a maximum total score of 2400.

The complete report can be downloaded from the department of education's website.

Below are the Top 25 schools in Pennsylvania followed by lists of the Top 10 high schools in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties:

TOP 25 HIGH SCHOOLS

Rank School School District Average SAT Score
1 Julia R. Masterman
High School
Philadelphia 1978
2 Downingtown STEM Academy Downingtown Area 1839
3 Conestoga High School Tredyffrin-Easttown 1795
4 Upper Saint Clair High School Upper Saint Clair 1770
5 Lower Merion High School Lower Merion 1766
6 Harriton High School Lower Merion 1754
7 Council Rock
High School North
Council Rock 1747
8 Radnor High School Radnor Township 1746
T9 Unionville High School Unionville-Chadds Ford 1730
T9 Upper Dublin High School Upper Dublin 1730
11 Mt. Lebanon High School Mt. Lebanon 1729
12 Central Bucks
High School East
Central Bucks 1726
13 Lower Moreland High School Lower Moreland Township 1723
14 North Allegheny High School North Allegheny 1722
15 New Hope-Solebury
High School
New Hope-Solebury 1716
16 Fox Chapel Area High School Fox Chapel Area 1708
17 Strath Haven High School Wallingford-Swarthmore 1707
18 Wissahickon High School Wissahickon 1701
19 Jenkintown High School Jenkintown 1687
20 Methacton High School Methacton 1686
21 Great Valley High School Great Valley 1682
22 Central Bucks
High School West
Central Bucks 1667
T23 Northwest PA Collegiate Academy Erie City 1662
T23 State College Area
High School
State College Area 1662
25 Central High School Philadelphia  1661


BUCKS COUNTY

Rank School School District Average SAT Score
1 Council Rock
High School North
Council Rock 1747
2 Central Bucks
High School East
Central Bucks 1726
3 New Hope-Solebury
High School
New Hope-Solebury 1716
4 Central Bucks
High School West
Central Bucks 1667
5 Council Rock
High School South
Council Rock 1656
6 Central Bucks
High School South
Central Bucks 1641
7 Pennsbury High School Pennsbury 1610
8 Palisades High School Palisades 1562
9 Quakertown Community
High School
Quakertown Community 1547
10 Neshaminy High School Neshaminy 1527


CHESTER COUNTY

Rank School School District Average SAT Score
1 Downingtown STEM Academy Downingtown Area 1839
2 Conestoga High School Tredyffrin-Easttown 1795
3 Unionville High School Unionville-Chadds Ford 1730
4 Great Valley High School Great Valley 1682
5 West Chester Henderson
High School
West Chester Area 1643
6 West Chester Bayard Rustin
High School
West Chester Area 1620
7 Owen J. Roberts High School Owen J. Roberts 1612
8 Phoenixville Area
High School
Phoenixville Area 1611
9 Kennett High School Kennett Consolidated 1595
10 West Chester East
High School
West Chester Area 1593


DELAWARE COUNTY

Rank School School District Average SAT Score
1 Radnor High School Radnor Township 1746
2 Strath Haven High School Wallingford-Swarthmore 1707
3 Garnet Valley High School Garnet Valley 1654
4 Penncrest High School Rose Tree Media 1605
5 Haverford High School Haverford Township 1579
6 Marple Newtown
High School
Marple Newtown 1553
7 Springfield High School Springfield 1541
8 Sun Valley High School Penn-Delco 1447
9 Ridley High School Ridley 1418
10 Interboro High School Interboro 1393


MONTGOMERY COUNTY

RankSchoolSchool DistrictAverage SAT Score
1Lower Merion High SchoolLower Merion1766
2Harriton High SchoolLower Merion1754
3Upper Dublin High SchoolUpper Dublin1730
4Lower Moreland
High School
Lower Moreland Twp.1723
5Wissahickon High SchoolWissahickon1701
6Jenkintown High SchoolJenkintown1687
7Methacton High SchoolMethacton1686
8Springfield Twp. High SchoolSpringfield Twp.1636
9North Penn High SchoolNorth Penn1630
10Perkiomen Valley High SchoolPerkiomen Valley1622


PHILADELPHIA

RankSchoolSchool DistrictAverage SAT score
1Julia R. Masterman
High School
Philadelphia1978
2Central High SchoolPhiladelphia1661
3Science Leadership AcademyPhiladelphia1598
4Renaissance Academy
Charter School
Charter School1557
5Mathematics, Science & Technology
Community Charter School
Charter School1500
6GAMPPhiladelphia1472
7Arts Academy
at Benjamin Rush
Philadelphia1430
8Creative and Performing Arts
High School
Philadelphia1403
9High School of Engineering & SciencePhiladelphia1392
10Philadelphia Academy Charter SchoolCharter School1388


The data above was collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The entire report is available here.