The problem of seismic assessment of low-rise school buildings is significant in Taiwan after the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999. The technology of seismic assessment of low-rise school buildings has already been developed in NCREE handbook. However, in design practice, there are still numerous problems that need to be considered. In the study, two pushover tests of school building are compared with the analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the TEASPA method. Besides, a new method, SERCB, which considers the change of axial force in practical structure when earthquake occurs, is called SERCB, claims to be more efficient in describing the behavior of member in nonlinear analysis. Based on the obtained base shear – roof displacement curve and failure mechanism that are determined from each analysis, this study proposes some recommendations for simulating plastic hinges for members of school buildings.