The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Science. The lowest is 21% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on C E Cole Intermediate Sch
C E Cole Intermediate School serves grades four through six in Reading, Pennsylvania, as part of the Muhlenberg School District. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Latino and includes a substantial share of Black and white students, with a much smaller Asian population. Every student at Cole qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic disadvantage that defines the school's context entirely.
Reading itself is Pennsylvania's fourth-largest city, a densely urban county seat that has undergone a dramatic demographic shift from a German industrial hub to a majority-Latino community. The city is walkable, especially downtown around Penn Street, though some outlying neighborhoods are car-dependent. Reading has historically carried very high poverty rates, though it is in the midst of state-backed revitalization efforts including a downtown CRIZ designation, the Fifth and Penn building restoration project, and large-scale affordable housing work. The surrounding county remains predominantly white and more affluent, creating a sharp contrast with the city itself.
The school's academic profile shows uneven performance across subjects. In science, students performed at a moderate level, with roughly half reaching proficiency. English language arts proficiency was substantially lower, with only a small fraction of students meeting the standard. Mathematics proficiency was the weakest area, with a small share of tested students reaching proficiency. Against the comparison set of districts in Berks County, Cole's overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile, reflecting the challenge level of the work ahead.
The district is navigating significant structural change. A new middle school building broke ground in early 2025 near the high school, designed for students in grades five and six, representing the largest capital investment in the district in several decades. This reflects substantial enrollment growth over the past ten years and will reshape grade configuration across the system. Simultaneously, the 2025-26 budget included a property tax increase and staff reductions to address a sizable budget shortfall, with particular concern raised about cuts to student mental health services. The district has also adopted Structured Literacy aligned with the Science of Reading as a foundational pedagogical approach across elementary grades, a multi-year shift in how reading is taught.
Cole is a school serving a fully economically disadvantaged enrollment in an urban setting where family resources are limited. The academic results, particularly in math and language arts, indicate students are entering intermediate grades with foundational skill gaps that the school is working to address. For families considering this school, the pertinent questions center on how the shift to Structured Literacy is being implemented in the classroom, whether the leadership and teaching experience support students significantly below grade level, and how the ongoing budget pressures and staffing reductions affect the daily learning environment and support services available.
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