The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Science. The lowest is 33% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Claysburg-kimmel Jr Hs
Claysburg-Kimmel Jr HS serves grades seven and eight in a small rural community in Blair County, Pennsylvania, where the school sits at the civic center of a working-class place with deep family roots and industrial history. The school enrolls a small student body, all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student population is overwhelmingly white with very few students of other backgrounds. The school draws from families anchored in the area's former company-town economy, now stabilizing around regional logistics and education employment.
On academics, the school's testing profile is mixed. Science proficiency is the strongest area, with about two-thirds of students meeting or exceeding state standards. English language arts sits at just above half of students proficient, which places the school above the midpoint when compared against the other districts in Blair County. Math proficiency, at about a third of students, is a genuine soft spot and the weakest of the three subjects tested. This pattern aligns with what the district has publicly acknowledged: math results have trailed state averages, while reading and science have outperformed them. The district has responded by overhauling its K-12 math curriculum with specialists from IU8, shifting toward conceptual understanding and problem-solving rather than procedural drill, and is actively recruiting to fill a long-vacant secondary math teaching position. For families considering the school, this represents a district in deliberate motion on its weakest metric, though the changes are recent and their effects will take time to show.
The broader school environment carries the character of a small district operating in a place with tight finances. Claysburg itself is a census-designated place of a few hundred families strung along Bedford Street, with I-99 as the main link outward. The town has experienced population decline since its heyday as a silica brick refractories hub, and the school district sits at the geographic and civic heart of the community. Housing is dominated by older single-family homes; property values are modest relative to state averages. The district has raised property taxes to the maximum allowed by state law for multiple recent budget cycles to address payroll and health-care cost pressures, a signal that families in the area should expect continued tax increases tied to rising personnel costs.
The district has moved to shore up student support beyond academics. A K-6 summer program with tutoring and social-emotional learning launched in 2024 on grant funding. A CK Buddy Club for high-school students interested in special education is now running with state grant support. A Mentoring For Success program in its second year connects high-school students to local business leaders across Blair County. These programs reflect deliberate effort to add wraparound resources and career exposure in a setting where many families would otherwise have limited access to such structure.
State testing data for science is one year behind (2023-24), while math and English language arts results are current to 2024-25. Data on special education enrollment, English learner populations, staffing, and chronic absenteeism were not available. Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among Blair County districts, a position anchored by its strong science results and adequate English performance, offset by the math gap.
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