Pittsburgh Area's Best Middle Schools Ranked In New Analysis

PITTSBURGH, PA — Fort Couch in the Upper St. Clair School District is the best public middle school in the Pittsburgh area, according to a new U.S. News & World Report analysis.

U.S. News researchers based the 2027 ranking of the nation’s best public middle schools on the latest publicly available data from state education agencies by RTI International, alongside data from the U.S. Department of Education. In the past, the state reports weren’t part of the methodology.

State agency data offers a more thorough evaluation of student achievement in math and reading across every proficiency level, all while taking student background and overall performance on state assessments into consideration.

This year’s ranking includes 24,000 public middle schools.

The top 25 public middle schools in the Pittsburgh area are listed below. Their state rankings are listed parenthetically.

1. Fort Couch, Upper St. Clair School District (10)

2. Dorseyville, Fox Chapel School District (13)

3. Peters, Peters Township School District (14)

4. Boyce, Upper St. Clair School District (16)

5. South Fayette, South Fayette School District (17)

6. Hampton, Hampton School District (19)

7. Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, Pittsburgh Public Schools (20)

8. Quaker Valley, Quaker Valley School District (21)

9. Jefferson, Mt. Lebanon School District (22)

10. Mellon, Mt. Lebanon School District (24)

11.West Allegheny, West Allegheny School District (26)

12. Hillcrest, Norwin School District (34)

13. Norwin, Norwin School District (37)

14. Pittsburgh Colfax, Pittsburgh Public Schools (38)

15. Penn, Penn Trafford School District (43)

16. Marshall, North Allegheny School District (46)

17. Ingomar, North Allegheny School District (47)

18. Moon, Moon Area School District (48)

19. Neil Armstrong, Bethel Park School District (70)

20. Franklin Regional, Franklin Regional School District (73)

21. Pittsburgh Science & Technology, Pittsburgh Public Schools (74)

22. Haine, Seneca Valley School District (75)

23. North Hills, North Hills School District (79)

24. Pleasant Hills, West Jefferson School District (84)

25. Pine-Richland, Pine-Richland School District (85)

The rankings are intended as an evaluation tool to give parents a snapshot of how well schools provide a high-quality education and prepare students for a successful future.

Related: Pittsburgh Area's Top 25 Elementary Schools Ranked