The top reported proficiency rate is 98% in Science. The lowest is 57% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Kiski Area South Primary Sch
Kiski Area South Primary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Export, a small residential borough within Westmoreland County. The school sits within the Kiski Area School District, which spans parts of both Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. The building is located in a historically working-class area with long-standing ties to coal mining and rail transport; Export itself is quiet and family-oriented, though experiencing slow population decline, and sits entirely surrounded by the much larger suburban township of Murrysville.
The school enrolls students in manageable numbers across five grade levels, with a student body that is predominantly white. Nearly half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, marking the school's role in serving a lower-to-middle-income community within a broader upper-middle-income suburban context. Data on special education and English learner populations were not available.
On Pennsylvania's state assessments for grades three through four, the school's performance is mixed. In mathematics, proficiency sits at roughly the midpoint: about three-fifths of tested students performed at proficient or above. In English language arts, proficiency dips lower, with about half the tested cohort at proficient or above. Science results, reported from the prior year, stand out as notably strong, with the vast majority of tested students meeting proficiency. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Westmoreland County.
The picture that emerges is of a school with real strength in science instruction but uneven literacy and mathematics performance. A parent looking at these results may want to explore further with the school whether there are particular instructional initiatives underway in math and language arts, or what support structures exist for students who are not yet proficient.
Export is a walkable, compact community with its own civic center and access to the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, a flat rail-trail popular with walkers, runners, and cyclists. However, the broader area is car-dependent, with minimal public transit, and the schools serving this community sit on separate suburban campuses outside the borough's walkable core. Franklin Regional Senior High School, the district's secondary destination, is located several miles away in Murrysville proper. The surrounding Murrysville area is experiencing modest new housing construction, with several developments marketing homes in the mid-range to upmarket price points, signaling continued suburban infill even as Export's own population remains in slow decline.
The Kiski Area School District recently undertook a major renovation of its intermediate school facility, financed by bond issuance, with modernization work on security, accessibility, library, and infrastructure. For families in the 2024-2025 school year, property tax rates differ by county: Westmoreland County households saw an increase, while Armstrong County households saw a decrease. This split reflects the district's geographic span and may affect affordability calculations depending on where a family lives within the district boundary.
Housing values in the Export zip code are below state and national benchmarks, making it comparatively affordable; monthly mortgage estimates are modest, and rent as a share of household income is reasonable by national standards. This affordability context sits against the backdrop of slow population loss in Export itself and new suburban development in the surrounding Murrysville township, creating a mixed growth picture.
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