The Pittsburgh area ranks No. 7 in the nation for its public schools among cities with populations above 300,000, according to GreatSchools, a nonprofit organization that compiles school data nationwide.

GreatSchools, located in San Francisco, included 160 schools with Pittsburgh addresses in its results, said Pamela Ardizzone, spokeswoman for GreatSchools.

The list includes Pittsburgh Public Schools, which has 66 schools, as well as some suburban schools and charter schools.

The rankings were based the results of state tests and the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

GreatSchool's description of Pittsburgh notes that Pittsburgh Public Schools "made a commitment to improve its faltering performance" a few years ago and has had "steady improvements in rankings and test scores."

In rankings done by GreatSchools with Forbes.com, two other localities in Allegheny County -- Allison Park and Bethel Park -- also made the top 10 in "Best Schools for Your Housing Buck," both in the category of places with median home prices below $200,000. Allison Park ranked No. 4 and Bethel Park No. 10.

While Allison Park is not a school district, the study counted six schools with Allison Park mailing addresses. Four are in Hampton: Hampton High, Hampton Middle and Central and Wyland elementary schools; one is in North Allegheny: Hosack Elementary; and one is in Shaler Area: Burchfield Primary. It had insufficient data on a seventh with an Allison Park mailing address, A.W. Beattie Career Center.

In Pittsburgh's category, there were 58 cities with population over 300,000, said Karissa Sparks, spokeswoman for GreatSchools. She said the analysts first eliminated those that did not score in the 50th percentile or better among districts in their state. That left 24 cities.

Each was given an education quality score on a 100-point scale based on test scores and ranked.

Pittsburgh's education quality score was 56.56, Allison Park's 94.07, and Bethel Park's, 89.16.

In the large city category, Raleigh, N.C., came in first with a score of 65.88, followed by Colorado Springs at 63.94.

Others ranking above Pittsburgh were Mesa, Ariz., 63.92; Honolulu, 62.39; Virginia Beach, 59.62; and Portland, Ore., 56.58.

Rounding out the top 10 were San Francisco, 56.37; Tampa, 55.88; and San Jose, Calif., 55.41.

The national funders of GreatSchools include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Robertson Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

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