Bellefonte Area HS

Bellefonte · PA · Bellefonte Area SD · Public


AP rigor: 90th percentile nationally 19 AP courses

At a glance

Programs & features
  • 19 AP courses offered — Elite
  • Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • Gifted & talented program
  • 9 calculus classes · 2 physics · 8 chemistry
Academic signals
  • AP rigor: 90th percentile nationally
  • SAT/ACT participation: 66th percentile by test-taker volume
  • 4-yr grad rate: 92% in 2019 (60th percentile nationally)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Bellefonte Area HS compares for families

Standout academic depth by national standards.

  • ▸ StatewideAP rigor in the top 10% nationally with 19 AP courses.
  • ▸ LocallyPA students outperform the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (+4 points).
  • ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Bald Eagle Area MS/SHS, Central Mountain HS, Mifflin Co HS and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

90th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
19
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
67
≈8 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
11
9 calculus · 2 advanced
Lab science classes
10
2 physics · 8 chemistry
Other rigor signals
Dual-enrollment program
Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

66th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
128
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
15.1
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

60th percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
92%
Range: 90–94%
4-year cohort size
196
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

‍ Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
13.3%
Typical mix. Watch the trend — high turnover can compound.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
46.7%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

Federal Title I context

Mixed-income school

Below Title I eligibility threshold (FRPL < 35%)

30.2%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

25-34% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Below the federal Title I threshold but a meaningful share of the population is income-eligible for free lunch.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Your state's public flagship

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

54%
admit rate
$20,644
in-state tuition/yr · $41,790 out-of-state
1220–1400
SAT 25–75 · ACT 27–32

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $32,875/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
15.7%
Roughly average. The national post-COVID rate climbed to ~16% nationwide; this school is in the middle of the pack.
Students absent 15+ days
140
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2021 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
283:1
Above the ASCA 250:1 target but below the US median (~430:1). Capacity is workable.
Counselor FTE
3.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
65
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 234 in 2021 to 235 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+0.4%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -1.5%/year, projecting from 2024's 850 students:

2025
837
2027
811
2029
787

≈ 63 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue at risk

At $20,366 per student in district revenue, the 63 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $1,283,058/year in funding at risk.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Bald Eagle Area MS/SHS
Wingate
Public 3.1 477 -3.0%
Central Mountain HS
Mill Hall
Public 19.2 1,013 -12.1%
Mifflin Co HS
Lewistown
Public 22.3 1,032 -7.3%
Penns Valley Area JSHS
Spring Mills
Public 12.3 427 -8.6%
State College Area HS
State College
Public 10.4 2,402 -1.4%
Philipsburg-Osceola Area HS
Philipsburg
Public 23.5 525 +5.8%
Shikellamy HS
Sunbury
Public 50.9 855 -5.0%
Keystone Central Career and Technology Center
Mill Hall
Public 19.2 — —

At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Bellefonte Area HS is a public high school in Bellefonte, PA, enrolling 850 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Enrollment is up 0% from 2021 to 2024.

It offers 19 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 90% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

128 students took the SAT or ACT in the most recent federal count, a participation level above 66% of U.S. high schools.

Its federal four-year graduation rate was about 92% in the latest EDFacts release.

It has about 283 students per school counselor.

16% of its students were chronically absent in 2020.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (enrollment), the federal Civil Rights Data Collection and EDFacts, state education agencies where named, and the school's own published documents where named.

Questions families ask

How many AP courses does Bellefonte Area HS offer? Bellefonte Area HS offers 19 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 90% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

What is Bellefonte Area HS's graduation rate? Bellefonte Area HS's federal four-year graduation rate was about 92% in the latest EDFacts release.

How many students attend Bellefonte Area HS? Bellefonte Area HS is a public high school in Bellefonte, PA, enrolling 850 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

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