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What do you wish you knew before starting at Independence CS West?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
811
Elementary
STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·INDEPENDENCE CS WEST·NCES 420089307600
Independence CS West
5600 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143 · (215) 724-5600 · Philadelphia County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL811 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 8% of Pennsylvania public elementary 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
58 FTE teachers
STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
102%
831 students
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 | 103 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 100 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 93 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 97 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 101 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 95 | 12% |
| Grade 6 | 82 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 71 | 9% |
| Grade 8 | 69 | 9% |
This year's kindergarten class (103) is 49% larger than its 8th grade class (69).
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
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
22.7%
PA avg 51.1% . -0.2pp since 2023
Math
11.1%
PA avg 43.0% . +2.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 23 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 11 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 22.7% | 11.1% |
| 2023-24 | 22.9% | 8.7% |
% 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
18.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 18% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% 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 →
Where Independence CS West ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.4% | #1,309 of 1,396 | #107 of 161 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 11.1% | #1,406 of 1,511 ▲ 7 | #123 of 193 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 22.7% | #1,316 of 1,511 ▲ 55 | #103 of 193 ▲ 16 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 811 | #73 of 1,638 | #26 of 194 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.0:1 | #1,062 of 1,528 | #104 of 189 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 16.4% | #1,265 of 1,531 | #154 of 189 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 102% | #193 of 1,600 | #47 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +102.8% | #2 of 450 | #1 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
811
+117 (+17%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
was 13.1:1
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 | 811 | 58 | 14.0:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 831 | 45 | 18.5:1 | 100% (831) |
| 2022-23 | 833 | 58 | 14.4:1 | 100% (831) |
| 2020-21 | 694 | 53 | 13.1:1 | 99% (688) |
| 2017-18 | 400 | 22 | 18.2:1 | 100% (398) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Independence CS West.
Since 2017-18: students up 103% (400 to 811); teachers up 164% (22 to 58).
About Independence CS West
Independence CS West is a high-enrollment elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, administered by Independence CS West. Students in kindergarten through 8 attend, and enrollment is 811 students. The typical figure for elementary schools in Pennsylvania is about 443 students.
Federal records list Independence CS West as its own district.
At Independence CS West, Black students make up 91% of the student body. Smaller groups are 5% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. County-wide, 39% of Philadelphia County residents are Black. By the diversity index, Independence CS West comes in at 16%.
A ratio of 14.0:1 comes from the school's 58 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania is lower than this school's figure.
The allk12 Grade for Independence CS West is D. Compared with Pennsylvania public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 8% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Independence CS West is 15.3 points below its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (18.4% versus 33.7%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Pennsylvania.
In the county around the school, Philadelphia County, median household income is about $61,953, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 35% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 17%. A total of 309 public schools operate in Philadelphia County, serving about 182,005 students.
Mitchell Elementary School is located less than a tenth of a mile from Independence CS West. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Among 6 nearby schools that report test results, Independence CS West ranks 3rd on proficiency.
Independence CS West is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels City: Large. Independence CS West is one of the charter schools in Pennsylvania.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 811 was 17% higher than in 2020-21, when it was 694.
The Independence CS West community page is open for posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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
- 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
- Mitchell Elementary School0.1 mi · 283
- Mastery CS-Hardy Williams0.3 mi · 1,253
- Longstreth William C School0.4 mi · 314
- Comegys Benjamin B School0.5 mi · 252
- Richard Allen Preparatory CS0.7 mi · 315
- Harrington Avery D School0.8 mi · 274
Frequently asked questions
About Independence CS WestHow many students attend Independence CS West?
Independence CS West enrolls approximately 811 students in grades KG-08.
What age range does Independence CS West serve?
Independence CS West serves students from grade KG through grade 08.
How many teachers does Independence CS West have?
Independence CS West employs 58 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Independence CS West?
Student demographics at Independence CS West are roughly 1% White, 5% Hispanic, 91% Black, 3% Two or more.
Is Independence CS West public or private?
Independence CS West is a public K-12 school operated as a charter, overseen by Independence CS West.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.