Valhalla Middle School, Valhalla NY

Original Research by School Decision on Valhalla Middle School

Valhalla Middle School serves students in grades six through eight as part of the Valhalla Union Free School District in an institutional-anchored hamlet of Westchester County that blends residential neighborhoods with major medical and educational facilities. The school's enrollment is small for a middle school, spread roughly evenly across its three grade bands. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is racially and ethnically mixed, with white students representing the largest single share, followed by a substantial Hispanic enrollment and smaller numbers of Asian and Black students.

In state testing across the three core subjects administered at middle grades, Valhalla Middle shows a clear grade-level progression. Sixth and seventh grade proficiency in English language arts hover in the low to mid range, at about the same level. Eighth grade ELA proficiency jumps sharply upward and reaches a more solid range. In math, sixth graders reach a respectable proficiency level. Seventh grade math dips slightly lower. Eighth grade math performance is notably strong, climbing into a high range. Science is tested only in grade eight and shows lower proficiency than either math or ELA at that level; a parent may want to look into what science instruction looks like in the middle grades and what resources students have access to. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency positions it above the midpoint among middle schools in Westchester County.

The eighth grade science assessment also carried a notably lower participation rate than the school's participation rates elsewhere, suggesting either that the test was optional for some students or that a meaningful number were absent. State testing data was not available for social studies beyond a single older result from 2010, so no current picture of instruction in that domain exists in the available record.

Valhalla itself is a small, car-dependent hamlet structured around institutional anchors. The Westchester Medical Center, New York Medical College, and Westchester Community College form the economic engine and shape the community's character, while a compact downtown with shops and dining sits near the Valhalla Metro-North station on the Harlem Line. The housing stock is overwhelmingly single-family detached homes, many built in mid-twentieth-century styles. A major biotech and mixed-use development project on county land near the medical complex is in early stages and will reshape parts of the hamlet over the next decade, bringing construction activity, job growth, and traffic concerns flagged by residents. Home values in the zip code are in the upper range for the region, and the market is seeing active inventory and faster listing turnover in recent months.

The district itself completed a capital bond referendum in December 2023 backed by voters with a strong margin, funding construction and improvements across school buildings. The district is planning another capital improvement project and recruiting community members to a stakeholder committee, signaling that additional facilities work and associated tax discussions lie ahead. Families considering a move to the area should factor this into longer-term planning.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

New York Regents Exams

2 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	41	100.0%
Science	32	97.0%

Math

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 71% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 768%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 891%

School 91% · District 91%

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 883%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Science

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 892%

School 92% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolVALHALLA UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income54%Higher-income65%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income45%Higher-income69%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income87%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income56%Higher-income77%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income52%Higher-income75%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income78%Higher-income93%16 pp gap