1
How has Phillips Academy High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
467
High
DISTRICT 706 · STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIST 299·NCES 170993001061
Phillips Academy High School
244 E Pershing Rd, Chicago, IL 60653 · (773) 535-1603 · Cook County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL467 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
334 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 110 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 122 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 104 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 131 | 28% |
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Beethoven Elementary SchoolPK–08Carter Elementary SchoolPK–08Drake Elementary SchoolPK–08Dulles Elementary SchoolPK–08Haines Elementary SchoolPK–08James R Doolittle AcademyPK–08John J Pershing Magnet ElementaryPK–08National Teachers Elementary AcademyPK–08South Loop Elementary SchoolPK–08Ward J Elementary SchoolPK–08Wells Preparatory Elementary AcademyPK–08
Based on published attendance-zone data from Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
6.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.2%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-23.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 6% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 30% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Phillips Academy High School
Phillips Academy High School's state test result (6.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips Academy High School this school | 467 | 71.5% | 6.3% |
| Univ of Chicago Chtr-Woodlawn Chicago | 591 | 72.4% | 16.4% |
| South Shore Intl Col Prep High School Chicago | 625 | 73.0% | 28.2% |
| Julian High School Chicago | 440 | 78.0% | 5.0% |
| Cahokia High School Cahokia | 850 | 75.9% | 10.1% |
| Art in Motion Charter School Chicago | 602 | 79.1% | 15.6% |
Matched among Illinois high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Phillips Academy High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 6.3% | #539 of 573 | #138 of 170 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 467 | #341 of 708 | #137 of 206 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #264 of 528 | #73 of 173 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 16.1% | #418 of 537 | #134 of 180 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 71.5% | #149 of 578 | #123 of 171 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -25.0% | #36 of 358 | #26 of 101 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
467
-414 (-47%) vs 2020
-60% since 1990-91, when it was 1,171
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 467 | 32.5 | 14.4:1 | 72% (334) |
| 2023-24 | 494 | 36 | 13.7:1 | 91% (448) |
| 2022-23 | 531 | 37.5 | 14.2:1 | 91% (482) |
| 2020-21 | 881 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 623 | 38.1 | 16.4:1 | 96% (595) |
| 2015-16 | 544 | 39 | 13.9:1 | 97% (529) |
| 2010-11 | 782 | 49 | 16.0:1 | 100% (779) |
| 2000-01 | 706 | 55 | 12.8:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,171 | 87 | 13.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Phillips Academy High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (623 to 467); teachers down 15% (38.1 to 32.5).
About Phillips Academy High School
In Chicago, Illinois, Phillips Academy High School is a low-enrollment high school. The school serves 467 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25. Enrollment is 44% lower than the average for high schools in Illinois, which is about 834.
Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 counts 622 schools and 324,396 students, including Phillips Academy High School.
About 91% of the student body at Phillips Academy High School is Black. Other students are 5% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. By comparison, Cook County residents are about 22% Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 16% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Its teaching staff equals 32.5 full-time positions, a ratio of 14.4:1. That is close to the 13.8:1 average for high schools in Illinois. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 72%.
Phillips Academy High School trails its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests by 23.9 points (6.3% versus 30.2%), a bottom-10% result in Illinois on BeatsExpectations.
According to the American Community Survey, in Cook County, the median household income is $83,498, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of people live in poverty. Phillips Academy High School is one of 1,406 public schools in the county.
Wells Preparatory Elementary Academy is the public school closest to Phillips Academy High School, about 0.2 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Local comparison: Phillips Academy High School ranks 9th of 9 nearby schools, at 6.3% versus a 26.3% average.
Phillips Academy High School has an NCES locale of City: Large.
Federal data put enrollment at 881 in 2020-21 and 467 in 2024-25; the school may have served different grades in those years.
Discussion on this page can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Cook County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
5,182,090
Census ACS
Median income
$83,498
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,406
697,934 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chicago Public Schools Dist 299
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Other schools in Chicago
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Nearby schools
- Wells Preparatory Elementary Academy0.2 mi · 308
- Perspectives Chtr - IIT Campus0.3 mi · 413
- Chicago Military Academy High School0.4 mi · 209
- Bronzeville Classical Elementary School0.5 mi · 458
- Urban Prep Chtr Bronzeville High School0.6 mi · 148
- James R Doolittle Academy0.6 mi · 257
Frequently asked questions
About Phillips Academy High SchoolHow many students attend Phillips Academy High School?
Phillips Academy High School enrolls approximately 467 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Phillips Academy High School serve?
Phillips Academy High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Phillips Academy High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Phillips Academy High School is approximately 14.4:1 (33 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Phillips Academy High School?
At Phillips Academy High School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 5% Hispanic, 91% Black, 2% Two or more.
What district is Phillips Academy High School in?
Phillips Academy High School is part of Chicago Public Schools Dist 299.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.