The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Westmont Hilltop Jshs
Westmont Hilltop JSHS sits in Johnstown, a small former steel city in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania, about 65 to 76 miles east of Pittsburgh. The school enrolls grades 7 through 12 and serves the Westmont Hilltop School District, which has earned public recognition for literacy instruction at the elementary level. The school itself is a regular public secondary campus that draws from a student body where just under half qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
On state testing, the school shows uneven performance. English language arts proficiency sits at about half of tested students, a result that falls below the midpoint for districts across Cambria County. Mathematics proficiency is weaker, with proficiency near the lower end of the county range. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index is below the midpoint among its county peers. The data covers only grades 3 through 8 on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment; high school assessment results were not available. A graduation rate was not reported, making it impossible to assess college-readiness outcomes or dropout patterns for this grade span.
The school's enrollment sits at just over 700 students spread fairly evenly across its six grades. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students from other backgrounds. About four in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting broader economic pressures in the area. Special education enrollment data and English learner counts were not available in the records provided.
The Westmont Hilltop School District has held property tax rates flat across several consecutive budgets, absorbing spending shortfalls through reserves rather than raising taxes. This is a concrete advantage for families evaluating housing costs in the district. The district has also been recognized statewide by the Pennsylvania Literacy Coalition as producing stronger-than-expected reading outcomes at the elementary level despite serving populations with high economic disadvantage. The elementary school has shifted toward science-of-reading-aligned instruction with multi-tiered reading intervention, a pedagogical identity that may carry forward to students as they enter the junior-senior high.
Johnstown itself is a city in long-term decline (population peaked in the early 20th century), but with active redevelopment efforts underway. Housing prices are well below state and national benchmarks; median home values and rents are among the lowest in the region, making homeownership affordable. Downtown has a walkable historic core with civic anchors like Central Park, the Cambria Free Library, and the Johnstown Flood Museum. Manufacturing, healthcare, government, and defense-technology employment anchor the local economy, with Lockheed Martin, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, and a new Northrop Grumman facility in a downtown technology complex among major employers. Public transit is available through CamTran, though much of daily life centers on car-based access.
A parent weighing this school should look into the math proficiency results further with the district, understand what high school outcomes and college-preparatory pathways the school offers (information on course access and career programs was not available), and assess whether the literacy strengths documented at the elementary level have shaped the secondary curriculum. The school fits families seeking affordable housing, a compact secondary campus in a town with historic character and active reinvestment, and a district committed to holding property taxes flat while building literacy fundamentals.
See more original research from School Decision →