1
What tradition at Comly Watson Sch should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
618
Elementary
DISTRICT 474 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899003760
Comly Watson School
1001 Byberry Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19116 · (215) 400-3010 · Philadelphia County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL618 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 54% 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.
- A-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
14.7:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
587 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 102 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 119 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 112 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 98 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 96 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 91 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (102) is 12% larger than its 5th grade class (91).
Student demographics
64%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
41.6%
PA avg 51.1% . -5.5pp since 2023
Math
53.1%
PA avg 43.0% . +7.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 53 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 41.6% | 53.1% |
| 2023-24 | 47.1% | 45.6% |
% 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
49.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.9%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 Comly Watson School
Comly Watson School's state test result (49.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comly Watson School this school | 618 | 95.0% | 49.2% |
| Penn Alexander School Philadelphia | 595 | 98.2% | 88.8% |
| Greenberg Joseph School Philadelphia | 925 | 93.0% | 71.5% |
| McCall Gen George A School Philadelphia | 629 | 98.1% | 77.9% |
| Loesche William H School Philadelphia | 1,263 | 92.3% | 52.1% |
| Jenks Abram School Philadelphia | 278 | 91.7% | 69.9% |
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 Comly Watson School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.2% | #883 of 1,396 | #19 of 161 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 53.1% | #720 of 1,511 ▲ 138 | #14 of 193 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.6% | #971 of 1,511 ▲ 18 | #39 of 193 ▼ 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 618 | #230 of 1,638 | #54 of 194 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #1,203 of 1,528 | #118 of 189 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.9% | #236 of 1,531 | #46 of 189 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.0% | #573 of 1,600 | #138 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +25.9% | #54 of 450 | #11 of 48 |
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
618
+159 (+35%) vs 2020
+43% since 1990-91, when it was 432
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 14.8:1
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 | 618 | 42.1 | 14.7:1 | 95% (587) |
| 2023-24 | 587 | 40.4 | 14.5:1 | 100% (587) |
| 2022-23 | 565 | 34.4 | 16.4:1 | 100% (565) |
| 2020-21 | 459 | 31 | 14.8:1 | 99% (456) |
| 2017-18 | 491 | 26.3 | 18.7:1 | 100% (491) |
| 2015-16 | 482 | 25 | 19.3:1 | 100% (482) |
| 2010-11 | 450 | 30 | 15.0:1 | 36% (163) |
| 2000-01 | 404 | 23 | 17.6:1 | 25% (99) |
| 1990-91 | 432 | 24 | 18.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Comly Watson School.
Since 2017-18: students up 26% (491 to 618); teachers up 60% (26.3 to 42.1).
About Comly Watson School
Families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are served by Comly Watson School, a medium-sized elementary school. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 618 students in kindergarten through 5. The average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania is about 443 students, so this school is 40% above average.
Comly Watson School is one of 220 schools in Philadelphia City SD, which enrolls 116,230 students in total.
A majority of students at Comly Watson School, 50%, are White. The remaining shares are 30% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 6% Black, and 3% multiracial. Philadelphia County as a whole is about 35% White, so the school's share is higher. By the diversity index, Comly Watson School comes in at 64%.
Its teaching staff equals 42.1 full-time positions, a ratio of 14.7:1. That ratio is over the 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania. Around 95% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Across public schools in Philadelphia County, the average is about the same, 95%.
Measured against Pennsylvania public elementary schools, Comly Watson School receives a B-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 49.2%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 36.9%.
Census Bureau estimates for Philadelphia County show that median household income is about $61,953, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 35%, and about 17% of people live in poverty. A total of 309 public schools operate in Philadelphia County, serving about 182,005 students.
The nearest public school is Mathematics Science & Technology Community CS, at about 0.5 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Of the 8 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Comly Watson School is 6th on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as City: Large.
Federal counts put enrollment at 459 in 2020-21 and 618 in 2024-25, a 35% rise.
Discussions about Comly Watson School may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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
- Mathematics Science & Technology Community CS0.5 mi · 1,492
- Loesche William H School0.9 mi · 1,263
- Philadelphia Academy CS1.2 mi · 1,173
- MaST Community CS III1.2 mi · 1,290
- Washington George High School1.4 mi · 1,755
- Pine Road Elementary School1.6 mi · 628
Frequently asked questions
About Comly Watson SchoolHow many students attend Comly Watson School?
Comly Watson School enrolls approximately 618 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Comly Watson School serve?
Comly Watson School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many teachers does Comly Watson School have?
Comly Watson School employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.7:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Comly Watson School?
At Comly Watson School, the student body is approximately 50% White, 10% Hispanic, 6% Black, 30% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Comly Watson School public or private?
Comly Watson School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Philadelphia City SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.