Enrollment
423
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Chester Springs, PA
Pickering Valley El Sch
Federal NCES profile for Pickering Valley El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420771001432
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 15
📋 Attendance 72
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pickering Valley El Sch earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Pennsylvania schools.
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.8:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 5.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 423
- students enrolled
Pickering Valley El Sch has class sizes smaller than 86% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Downingtown Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420771001432 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
5.9%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-90% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pickering Valley El Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pickering Valley El Sch
Pickering Valley El Sch is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, enrolling 423 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.8:1, Pickering Valley El Sch is leaner than roughly 86% of Pennsylvania schools and 21% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 5.9% free-meal eligibility runs 90% below the Pennsylvania average.
With 423 students, its enrollment sits close to the Pennsylvania median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 181 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #80.
Its student body is led by Asian (59%) and White (32%) (diversity index 55/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 423 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
11.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Chester Springs's elementary schools, it stands alongside West Vincent El Sch (530 students): Pickering Valley El Sch is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.8:1 vs 12.3:1).
Downingtown Area Sd also operates Downingtown Hs West Campus (1,796 students) and Downingtown Hs East Campus (1,708 students) alongside Pickering Valley El Sch.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Pickering Valley El Sch compares
Pickering Valley El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.8:1 | ▼ 21% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 5.9% | ▼ 90% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 423 | top 56% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.8:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
423
Bigger than 51% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
5.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 90% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 14% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
11.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$16,432
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 423 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Asian 59.1%
White 31.9%
Hispanic or Latino 4.5%
Two or More 2.8%
African American 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: Asian at 59.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 54.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 54.6, Pickering Valley El Sch is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Downingtown Area Sd, which includes Pickering Valley El Sch.
$16,432
Per student
-9%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 74.9%
State 21.1%
Federal 4.0%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Pickering Valley El Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downingtown Hs West Campus | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Downingtown Hs East Campus | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Downingtown Ms | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lionville Ms | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pickering Valley El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,796
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 1,708
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 1,074
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 1,066
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 1,045
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
Similar elementary schools in Chester Springs
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~423 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pickering Valley El Sch's federal record.
- Compare Pickering Valley El Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Downingtown Area Sd's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Pickering Valley El Sch
How many students attend Pickering Valley El Sch?
Pickering Valley El Sch has 423 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Chester Springs, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pickering Valley El Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Pickering Valley El Sch is 10.8:1, which is 21% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 31% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pickering Valley El Sch?
5.9% of students at Pickering Valley El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pickering Valley El Sch?
The largest demographic group at Pickering Valley El Sch is Asian at 59.1% of enrollment, in Chester Springs, PA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pickering Valley El Sch?
Pickering Valley El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Pickering Valley El Sch a good school?
Pickering Valley El Sch earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Pennsylvania schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Downingtown Area Sd?
Besides Pickering Valley El Sch, Downingtown Area Sd also operates Downingtown Hs West Campus (1,796 students), Downingtown Hs East Campus (1,708 students), and Downingtown Ms (1,074 students). See the Downingtown Area Sd district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.