The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Moshannon Valley Jshs
Moshannon Valley Junior/Senior High School serves grades seven through twelve in Houtzdale, a small former coal-and-railroad borough in southern Clearfield County. The school sits on a campus on Green Acre Road outside the historic downtown core, where civic life clusters around the grid of central streets. The student body is overwhelmingly white and drawn from a district context where a substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic hardship in the area.
The school's recent state test results paint a picture of academic challenge. In grades three through eight math, the school's proficiency rate falls in the bottom quartile among districts in Clearfield County. English language arts proficiency is stronger but still below the county median. Across both subjects, the overall proficiency index—a mean of reported rates—places the school at the bottom quartile of the county comparison. No state graduation rate data was available for the school, and measures like chronic absenteeism and special-population counts did not appear in the data, so a parent may want to look into those directly with the school or district.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no program offerings or staffing detail was available beyond the basic school directory. The district recently established a cyber education agreement with Titusville Area School District's Rockets Online Campus, expanding flexible learning options for families who prefer distance learning rather than a traditional school building.
Houtzdale itself is a place of long-term contraction. The borough's population peaked during the coal boom and has declined substantially since, and the housing stock reflects its late-19th-century industrial origins: mostly pre-World War II single-detached homes on a compact grid. Home values in the zip code are modest relative to state and national benchmarks, and the economic texture is blue-collar and tight-knit. The State Correctional Institution–Houtzdale is the dominant area employer; the school district and small local businesses and banks round out the employment base. There is no public transit used for commuting, and the setting is car-oriented and quiet.
Houtzdale is roughly a seventeen-mile drive north of Clearfield, the county seat. Recently the borough created its first public park, Trella Memorial Park, and civic groups like the Houtzdale Revitalization Association have renewed attention on the town's future. Current housing activity centers on renovations and fixer-upper sales rather than new tract development.
One tax-related item affected the district in 2025: Clearfield County doubled its pre-determined tax ratio, which forced Moshannon Valley and all other county taxing entities to reset their millage rates. The changes left total revenue flat for the district, but homeowners and buyers now see double assessed values and half the previous millage rates on tax bills, which shifts how property taxes read and compare going forward—a technical change with no dollar impact on existing tax bills but one that makes comparisons across time look different.
See more original research from School Decision →