The top reported proficiency rate is 89% in Science. The lowest is 68% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Mount Nittany El Sch
Mount Nittany Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in State College, a college-town borough anchored by Penn State University Park. The school enrolls a mid-sized group of students, distributed fairly evenly across all six grades. About one-fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and Hispanic students, and very few Black students. Data on special education and English learner enrollment were not available.
In the most recent state testing data, Mount Nittany's students showed solid performance in English language arts and math across grades three through five. The proficiency rate in ELA was above two-thirds of tested students; math proficiency was somewhat lower, slightly below that threshold. These results place the school at the top quartile among elementary schools in Centre County when overall proficiency is calculated across subjects. Science testing, last reported two school years ago, showed notably stronger results, with about nine-tenths of tested students meeting or exceeding the proficiency threshold.
State College itself is a rapidly growing housing market tied to the university. Home values and rental rates have risen notably over the past year. The borough has a downtown character with walkable streets and local businesses, though much of the surrounding area is suburban. Penn State dominates the economy, with healthcare, retail, and other service sectors filling out employment. The school district has raised property taxes in each of the past several years to meet operating costs, after holding them flat earlier in the decade. A significant expansion and renovation of Mount Nittany Elementary is scheduled to wrap up by the start of the 2026-27 school year, adding capacity and modernizing the building. The district is also pursuing a major replacement of Park Forest Middle School, a multi-year project that will affect families with children moving into the district's middle grades.
Mount Nittany sits in an established residential neighborhood and feeds into the broader State College Area school system. For families considering the area, the school's solid academic standing and the ongoing facility investment are concrete factors. The growing housing market and consecutive years of tax increases are part of the economic backdrop parents should weigh against the town's downtown amenities and proximity to the university.
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