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What's one thing Fels Samuel HS gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,255
High
DISTRICT 689 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899003816
Fels Samuel High School
5500 Langdon Street, Philadelphia, PA 19111 · (215) 400-7100 · Philadelphia County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,255 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 6% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
79 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.7:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
1,235 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 75%
Community
1
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 | 259 | 21% |
| Grade 10 | 365 | 29% |
| Grade 11 | 313 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 318 | 25% |
Student demographics
65%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
28.4%
PA avg 51.1% . +5.4pp since 2023
Math
12.4%
PA avg 43.0% . +6.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 28 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 12 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 28.4% | 12.4% |
| 2023-24 | 23.0% | 6.3% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of PA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
15.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.4%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-20.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 15% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 35% typical for Pennsylvania 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 Fels Samuel High School
Fels Samuel High School's state test result (15.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fels Samuel High School this school | 1,255 | 98.4% | 15.4% |
| Olney High School Philadephia | 1,168 | 99.7% | 15.7% |
| Harrisburg High School Harrisburg | 1,343 | 99.4% | 5.4% |
| Frankford High School Philadelphia | 907 | 94.7% | 11.5% |
| South Philadelphia High School Philadelphia | 684 | 96.1% | 15.2% |
| William Penn SHS York | 1,681 | 95.7% | 19.4% |
Matched among Pennsylvania 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 Fels Samuel High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 15.4% | #543 of 576 | #39 of 57 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 12.4% | #544 of 626 ▲ 33 | #31 of 67 ▲ 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.4% | #567 of 626 ▲ 26 | #42 of 67 ▲ 14 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,255 | #116 of 713 | #6 of 70 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #473 of 601 | #25 of 65 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.7% | #55 of 604 | #17 of 65 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.4% | #171 of 619 | #33 of 67 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +32.4% | #15 of 221 | #6 of 31 |
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
1,255
+321 (+34%) vs 2020
+18% since 1990-91, when it was 1,063
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
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 | 1,255 | 78.6 | 16.0:1 | 98% (1,235) |
| 2023-24 | 1,235 | 83.4 | 14.8:1 | 100% (1,235) |
| 2022-23 | 1,053 | 71.6 | 14.7:1 | 100% (1,053) |
| 2020-21 | 934 | 63 | 14.8:1 | 100% (931) |
| 2017-18 | 948 | 55.7 | 17.0:1 | 100% (947) |
| 2015-16 | 987 | 55 | 17.9:1 | 100% (987) |
| 2010-11 | 1,574 | 95 | 16.6:1 | 51% (809) |
| 2000-01 | 1,546 | 79 | 19.6:1 | 29% (449) |
| 1990-91 | 1,063 | 67 | 15.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Fels Samuel High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 32% (948 to 1,255); teachers up 41% (55.7 to 78.6).
About Fels Samuel High School
Fels Samuel High School is a large high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, administered by Philadelphia City SD. The school serves 1,255 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25. The average among high schools in Pennsylvania is roughly 738 students; this school is 70% above that.
Fels Samuel High School is a school in Philadelphia City SD. The district has 220 schools and 116,230 students.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Fels Samuel High School is Black (42%). The remaining students are 41% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 4% multiracial, and 3% White. For comparison, Philadelphia County is about 39% Black. The chance that two students picked at random at Fels Samuel High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 65%.
Staffing totals 78.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 16.0:1. That ratio is over the 12.8:1 average for high schools in Pennsylvania. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Fels Samuel High School is 98%.
The allk12 Grade for Fels Samuel High School is D. Compared with Pennsylvania public high schools, the school scored higher than 6% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests, 15.4%, is 20.0 points below the 35.4% the model predicts from its free or reduced-price lunch share. That result is in the bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools.
In Philadelphia County (population about 1,579,706), median household income is about $61,953, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 309 public schools operate in Philadelphia County, serving about 182,005 students.
Carnell Laura H School is located about 0.5 miles from Fels Samuel High School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Fels Samuel High School comes in 6th of 9 nearby schools on average proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Fels Samuel High School as City: Large.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count grew from 934 to 1,255. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio rose from 14.8:1 to 16.0:1.
Discussions about Fels Samuel High School may include school safety, transportation, and start times. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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
- Carnell Laura H School0.5 mi · 639
- Universal Creighton CS0.7 mi · 663
- Franklin Benjamin School0.7 mi · 570
- The Philadelphia CS for Arts and Sciences at HR Edmunds0.8 mi · 885
- MaST Community CS II0.8 mi · 1,875
- Ziegler William H School1.0 mi · 522
Frequently asked questions
About Fels Samuel High SchoolHow large is Fels Samuel High School?
Fels Samuel High School enrolls approximately 1,255 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Fels Samuel High School serve?
Fels Samuel High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fels Samuel High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Fels Samuel High School is approximately 16.0:1 (79 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Fels Samuel High School?
Student demographics at Fels Samuel High School are roughly 3% White, 41% Hispanic, 42% Black, 7% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Fels Samuel High School?
Fels Samuel High 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.