The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in Science. The lowest is 10% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Amanda E Stout El Sch
Amanda E Stout Elementary School is a neighborhood public school serving pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Reading, an urban, majority-Latino city in Berks County. The school enrolls a small population for its grade band, drawn almost entirely from the surrounding community. Nearly all students qualify for federal free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the broader economic profile of Reading's families. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller populations of Black and white students.
The school sits in a neighborhood setting in a city that is unusually walkable for its size, with Penn Street downtown serving as a commercial and cultural spine. Reading is midway through a state-backed downtown revitalization, anchored by a new City Revitalization and Improvement Zone designation that is expected to drive economic activity and housing development. A new flagship high school focused on STEM opened for the 2026-27 school year to relieve overcrowding at the main high school and expand career-pathway access for older students. Housing in the immediate area is affordable relative to county and state benchmarks, with median home values significantly lower than statewide norms, though the market has shown modest upward momentum over recent years.
On state assessments in math and English language arts, Stout's proficiency rates are low. In math, a small fraction of students in grades three through eight met state proficiency benchmarks in 2024-25. In English language arts the same year, proficiency was also considerably below half. Science results from 2022-23, the most recent available, showed proficiency closer to midrange, though science assessment data for later years was not available. When measured against other schools in Berks County, Stout's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the district's schools in the county. State testing results for early grades are not published, so the school's work with pre-K and kindergarten students does not appear in these figures.
Reading School District, which operates Stout, is a high-poverty urban district and receives supplementary state aid under Pennsylvania's post-2023 adequacy and tax-equity funding stream created to address longstanding inequities in the school-funding system. For 2025-26, the district approved its budget with no property tax increase, a deliberate choice that contrasted with most neighboring Berks County districts. The district also benefits from ongoing infrastructure investment tied to the city's revitalization efforts.
Parents evaluating Stout may want to look further into the school's classroom structures, instructional approach, and what academic support and enrichment it offers students working below grade level, given the proficiency results. The school's walkable urban setting and the affordability of the neighborhood are straightforward strengths for families working or living in Reading's center, and the district's commitment to no-increase budget policy and new state adequacy funding represent efforts to stretch resources in a high-need community.
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