Best Schools in Chester County, Pennsylvania

PAChester

95 ranked schools in Chester County

Overall Score Percentile

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Introduction

Chester County, Pennsylvania has a reputation that precedes it. Nestled in the Philadelphia suburbs and stretching out into some of the most scenic countryside in the mid-Atlantic, the county consistently ranks among the best-educated in the state — and the school data backs that up. From Chester Springs to Chadds Ford, the public schools here aren't just good by suburban standards. Many of them are performing at the very top of Pennsylvania's percentile rankings, competing with the best schools in the country.

What makes Chester County interesting isn't just one standout district or a single magnet school pulling up the averages. The county has multiple districts operating at a high level across all grade bands. Whether you're looking at elementary schools laying a strong academic foundation, middle schools sustaining that momentum, or high schools preparing students for selective colleges and technical careers, there's a depth of quality here that's worth understanding before you make decisions about where to live or enroll your kids.

The Districts That Stand Out

Downingtown Area School District

Downingtown Area serves a wide swath of western Chester County, including communities like Chester Springs and, of course, Downingtown itself. On paper, it's a large district — and large districts don't always perform consistently. Downingtown is an exception.

At the elementary level, Pickering Valley Elementary in Chester Springs scores at the 99th percentile overall, with a 99th in English, 98th in Math, and 98th in Science. Brandywine-Wallace Elementary, also in the district, sits right alongside it at the 99th percentile overall. That's two elementary schools in the same district sitting at the very top of the state rankings. For families with young children, that's a significant data point.

Then there's Downingtown STEM Academy, which anchors the district's high school offerings and deserves its own mention. At the middle school level, Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center scores at the 91st percentile overall — a solid performer, though it covers a narrower grade range than most.

Downingtown has built a community identity around academic ambition and college and career readiness, and the numbers reflect that consistently across grade levels.

Tredyffrin-Easttown School District

Tredyffrin-Easttown covers communities like Berwyn, Wayne, and Paoli — some of the most storied addresses on the Main Line. The district is smaller than Downingtown but remarkably consistent across every level of schooling.

New Eagle Elementary in Wayne scores at the 98th percentile overall. At the middle level, both Tredyffrin-Easttown Middle School (Berwyn) and Valley Forge Middle School (Wayne) score at the 98th percentile overall — with both posting 98th percentile marks in Math. That kind of middle school performance matters, because it's often where academic momentum is either built or lost.

Conestoga Senior High School rounds out the district's offerings at the high school level, landing at the 97th percentile overall with particularly strong math scores (98th percentile). Tredyffrin-Easttown is the kind of district where families move specifically for the schools — and the data gives them good reason to.

Unionville-Chadds Ford School District

Unionville-Chadds Ford is smaller and quieter than some of its neighbors, serving communities like Chadds Ford, West Chester, and Kennett Square. But smaller doesn't mean lesser. This district punches well above its weight class at every level.

Hillendale Elementary in Chadds Ford scores at the 98th percentile overall, with a 99th in English. Pocopson Elementary in West Chester matches that 98th overall ranking and earns a 99th percentile score in Science — one of the stronger science scores at the elementary level in the entire county. Charles F. Patton Middle School in Kennett Square scores at the 97th percentile overall, making it the top-ranked middle school in the county on this list.

At the high school level, Unionville High School in Kennett Square scores at the 98th percentile overall, including a 99th percentile in Science. For a district this size to be producing results this consistently across elementary, middle, and high school, there's clearly something working at a systemic level — not just at one flagship school.

Schools Worth Knowing About

Downingtown STEM Academy is the school that stops conversations. Serving students in the Downingtown Area School District, it scores at the 100th percentile in English, Math, and Science — a perfect overall score that's extraordinarily rare. This is a specialized academy built around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, but what the ranking data shows is that its students aren't just excelling in technical subjects. The English performance is elite as well. For families considering a move to the Downingtown area, this school is a legitimate national-caliber option.

Pocopson Elementary in the Unionville-Chadds Ford district is worth a second look for families focused on science education early in a child's schooling. A 99th percentile Science score at the elementary level is unusual — most elementary schools don't differentiate themselves this way. Combined with 97th percentile English and 95th percentile Math, Pocopson is performing at a level that would be notable anywhere in Pennsylvania.

Great Valley High School in Malvern is an interesting case. At the 92nd percentile overall — including a 94th percentile in Science — Great Valley holds its own in a county full of high-performing schools, and for families in the Malvern area, it represents a genuinely strong local option without requiring a specialized program or a cross-district application.

How We Rank Schools

The School Advocate builds its rankings using Pennsylvania state assessment data, with scores broken down by subject: English counts for 40% of a school's overall score, Math counts for another 40%, and Science makes up the remaining 20%. Because schools change over time — staff turns over, programs evolve, student populations shift — more recent assessment years are weighted more heavily than older ones. The goal is to give families a current, data-grounded picture of how a school is actually performing, not how it performed five years ago.

All percentile scores reflect how a school performs relative to other Pennsylvania public schools, so a 98th percentile score means that school outperformed 98% of schools statewide in that subject.

Compare Schools Yourself

The rankings above are a starting point, but every family's priorities are different. Some are focused on math and science pipelines. Others want well-rounded English and humanities programs. Some are weighing one side of a school district boundary against another.

The School Advocate's comparison tool at theschooladvocate.com/compare lets you pull up any schools side by side and look at the subject-by-subject breakdown directly. It's a useful way to go beyond the overall ranking and understand exactly where two schools differ — and where they don't.

Top Elementary Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Pickering Valley Elementary School	Downingtown Area SD	Chester Springs	99	98	99
2	Brandywine-Wallace Elementary School	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	97	98	99
3	New Eagle Elementary School	Tredyffrin-Easttown SD	Wayne	98	96	98
4	Hillendale Elementary School	Unionville-Chadds Ford SD	Chadds Ford	99	98	98
5	Pocopson Elementary School	Unionville-Chadds Ford SD	West Chester	97	95	98
6	Hillside Elementary School	Tredyffrin-Easttown SD	Berwyn	98	95	98
7	West Bradford Elementary School	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	97	96	97
8	Shamona Creek Elementary School	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	96	97	96
9	Lionville Elementary School	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	93	94	96
10	West Vincent Elementary School	Owen J Roberts SD	Chester Springs	94	98	96

Top Middle Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Tredyffrin-Easttown Middle School	Tredyffrin-Easttown SD	Berwyn	96	98	98
2	Valley Forge Middle School	Tredyffrin-Easttown SD	Wayne	96	98	98
3	Charles F Patton Middle School	Unionville-Chadds Ford SD	Kennett Square	97	95	97
4	Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	88	93	91
5	Great Valley Middle School	Great Valley SD	Malvern	89	88	91
6	Great Valley 5/6 Center	Great Valley SD		86	89	89
7	Lionville Middle School	Downingtown Area SD	Exton	87	84	86
8	Downingtown Middle School	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	83	75	82
9	Owen J Roberts Middle School	Owen J Roberts SD	Pottstown	85	76	82
10	Avon Grove Middle School	Avon Grove SD		80	77	79

Top High Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Downingtown STEM Academy	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	100	100	100
2	Unionville High School	Unionville-Chadds Ford SD	Kennett Square	96	96	98
3	Conestoga Senior High School	Tredyffrin-Easttown SD	Berwyn	95	98	97
4	Great Valley High School	Great Valley SD	Malvern	90	90	92
5	Downingtown HS West Campus	Downingtown Area SD	Downingtown	82	91	90
6	Avon Grove High School	Avon Grove SD	West Grove	88	87	89
7	Downingtown HS East Campus	Downingtown Area SD	Exton	78	91	87
8	West Chester East High School	West Chester Area SD	West Chester	91	78	85
9	Owen J Roberts High School	Owen J Roberts SD	Pottstown	79	73	80
10	West Chester Henderson High School	West Chester Area SD	West Chester	74	81	80