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Which teacher or staff member at Catharine Joseph Sch deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
437
Elementary
DISTRICT 474 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899003602
Catharine Joseph School
6600 Chester Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19142 · (215) 400-8150 · Philadelphia County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL437 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 16% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Pennsylvania public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
421 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 37 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 66 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 70 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 70 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 66 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 71 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (66) is 7% smaller than its 5th grade class (71).
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · STATE 59% · 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
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
28.7%
PA avg 51.1% . +5.7pp since 2023
Math
28.7%
PA avg 43.0% . +10.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 29 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 28.7% | 28.7% |
| 2023-24 | 23.0% | 18.5% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
27.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.3%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Pennsylvania's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Catharine Joseph School
Catharine Joseph School's state test result (27.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catharine Joseph School this school | 437 | 96.3% | 27.4% |
| Morton Thomas G School Philadelphia | 356 | 99.2% | 16.7% |
| Mastery CS-Clymer Elementary Philadelphia | 419 | 99.3% | 18.6% |
| Universal Alcorn CS Philadelphia | 467 | 90.6% | 27.7% |
| John Story Jenks Academy for the Arts and Sciences Philadelphia | 394 | 97.7% | 49.3% |
| Main Street School Upland | 340 | 88.5% | 23.9% |
Matched among Pennsylvania elementary 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 Catharine Joseph School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.4% | #1,211 of 1,396 | #63 of 161 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.7% | #1,177 of 1,511 ▲ 109 | #50 of 193 ▲ 17 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.7% | #1,227 of 1,511 ▲ 139 | #78 of 193 ▲ 37 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 437 | #732 of 1,638 | #98 of 194 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.2:1 | #513 of 1,528 | #68 of 189 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.1% | #537 of 1,531 | #76 of 189 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.3% | #528 of 1,600 | #127 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -22.0% | #243 of 1,045 | #86 of 135 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
437
-21 (-5%) vs 2020
-17% since 1990-91, when it was 527
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
was 12.4:1
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 | 437 | 35.7 | 12.2:1 | 96% (421) |
| 2023-24 | 421 | 33.2 | 12.7:1 | 100% (421) |
| 2022-23 | 440 | 34.2 | 12.9:1 | 100% (440) |
| 2020-21 | 458 | 37 | 12.4:1 | 99% (455) |
| 2017-18 | 560 | 33.2 | 16.9:1 | 99% (557) |
| 2015-16 | 637 | 34 | 18.7:1 | 100% (637) |
| 2010-11 | 606 | 41 | 14.8:1 | 94% (568) |
| 2000-01 | 768 | 43 | 17.9:1 | 53% (406) |
| 1990-91 | 527 | 32 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Catharine Joseph School.
Since 2017-18: students down 22% (560 to 437); teachers up 8% (33.2 to 35.7).
About Catharine Joseph School
Students in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, attend Catharine Joseph School, a medium-sized elementary school. Its 437 students are spread across pre-K through 5.
Catharine Joseph School is one school in Philadelphia City SD, a system of 220 schools with 116,230 students.
Black students make up a majority at Catharine Joseph School, at 68%. The next largest groups are 19% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, and 5% Asian. In Philadelphia County overall, about 39% of residents are Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 50% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teachers at the school number 35.7 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 12.2:1. On average, elementary schools in Pennsylvania have 13.1:1, compared with 12.2:1 here. The school's lunch program data list 96% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 95% average for public schools in Philadelphia County.
The allk12 Grade for Catharine Joseph School is C-. Compared with Pennsylvania public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 16% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Catharine Joseph School falls in the middle 80% of Pennsylvania schools: 27.4% actual against 36.3% predicted.
Within Philadelphia County, the median household income is $61,953, about 35% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 17%. In all, Philadelphia County has 309 public schools and roughly 182,005 students.
The next-closest public school is Bartram John - Main, about 0.5 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On proficiency, Catharine Joseph School is ahead of the 17.1% nearby average, ranking 1st of 8.
Locale data from NCES put Catharine Joseph School inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more (City: Large).
Enrollment at Catharine Joseph School dropped 5% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 458 to 437 students.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Philadelphia County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,579,706
Census ACS
Median income
$61,953
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
17%
Below federal line
Schools in county
309
182,005 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Philadelphia City SD
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 3,463 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,472 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 2,329 students
- Northeast Community Propel AcademyElementary · 1,783 students
- Mayfair SchoolElementary · 1,763 students
- Washington George High SchoolHigh · 1,755 students
Other schools in Philadelphia
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 3,463 students
- Philadelphia Performing Arts CSCombined · 2,572 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,472 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 2,329 students
- MaST Community CS IICombined · 1,875 students
- First Philadelphia Preparatory CSCombined · 1,831 students
Nearby schools
- Bartram John - Main0.5 mi · 583
- Tilden William T Middle School0.6 mi · 266
- Bell Avenue School0.6 mi · 265
- Southwest Leadership Academy CS0.7 mi · 670
- Morton Thomas G School0.7 mi · 356
- Patterson John M School0.8 mi · 391
Frequently asked questions
About Catharine Joseph SchoolHow many students attend Catharine Joseph School?
Catharine Joseph School enrolls approximately 437 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Catharine Joseph School serve?
Catharine Joseph School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Catharine Joseph School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Catharine Joseph School is approximately 12.2:1 (36 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Catharine Joseph School?
Student demographics at Catharine Joseph School are roughly 2% White, 19% Hispanic, 68% Black, 5% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Catharine Joseph School?
Catharine Joseph School is overseen by Philadelphia City SD in Philadelphia County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.