Enrollment
272
Elementary
STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·INQUIRY CS·NCES 420004200404
Inquiry CS
1301 Belmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104 · (215) 823-5541 · Philadelphia County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL272 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.
- 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
15.1:1
18 FTE teachers
STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
203 students
STATE 75%
Community
0
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 | 64 | 24% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 42 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 44 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 43 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 38 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (64) is 68% larger than its 5th grade class (38).
Student demographics
27%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
29.8%
PA avg 51.1% . -1.0pp since 2023
Math
27.9%
PA avg 43.0% . -2.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 30 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 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 1 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 29.8% | 27.9% |
| 2023-24 | 30.8% | 30.8% |
% 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
31.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.6%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% 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 Inquiry CS
Inquiry CS's state test result (31.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inquiry CS this school | 272 | 74.6% | 31.8% |
| Catalyst Academy CS Pittsburgh | 315 | 75.9% | 17.7% |
| Lewis C Cassidy Academics Plus School Philadelphia | 303 | 71.6% | 11.1% |
| Peirce Thomas M School Philadelphia | 270 | 70.0% | 10.5% |
| Longstreth William C School Philadelphia | 314 | 83.4% | 9.4% |
| KIPP Philadelphia Octavius Catto CS Philadelphia | 398 | 75.9% | 26.9% |
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 Inquiry CS ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.8% | #1,153 of 1,396 | #53 of 161 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.9% | #1,189 of 1,511 ▼ 81 | #52 of 193 ▼ 19 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 29.8% | #1,202 of 1,511 ▲ 59 | #70 of 193 ▲ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 272 | #1,337 of 1,638 | #165 of 194 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.1:1 | #1,276 of 1,528 | #133 of 189 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 26.9% | #1,042 of 1,531 | #116 of 189 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 74.6% | #717 of 1,600 | #185 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +31.4% | #40 of 450 | #7 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
272
+10 (+4%) vs 2020
+123% since 2000-01, when it was 122
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
was 10.9:1
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 | 272 | 18 | 15.1:1 | 75% (203) |
| 2023-24 | 268 | 18 | 14.9:1 | 76% (203) |
| 2022-23 | 268 | 26.5 | 10.1:1 | 100% (268) |
| 2020-21 | 262 | 24 | 10.9:1 | 99% (259) |
| 2017-18 | 207 | 16 | 12.9:1 | 100% (207) |
| 2015-16 | 137 | 8 | 17.1:1 | 85% (116) |
| 2010-11 | 106 | 6 | 17.7:1 | 97% (103) |
| 2000-01 | 122 | 10 | 12.2:1 | 0% (0) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Inquiry CS.
Since 2017-18: students up 31% (207 to 272); teachers up 13% (16 to 18).
About Inquiry CS
Inquiry CS is an elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reachable at (215) 823-5541. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 272 students in pre-K through 5. The average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania is about 443 students, so this school is 39% smaller than average.
Federal records list Inquiry CS as its own district.
The large majority of students at Inquiry CS, 85%, are Black. The remaining shares are 9% multiracial and 4% Hispanic. Philadelphia County as a whole is about 39% Black, so the school's share is higher. By the diversity index, Inquiry CS comes in at 27%.
With 18 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Inquiry CS was 15.1:1. Among elementary schools in Pennsylvania, the typical ratio is 13.1:1. Inquiry CS's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 75%. Compared with the 95% average for public schools in Philadelphia County, the school's rate is lower.
Measured against Pennsylvania public elementary schools, Inquiry CS receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Compared with Pennsylvania schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Inquiry CS's results are 13.8 points below predicted: 31.8% against 45.6%.
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 closest public school, Discovery CS, is about 0.2 miles from Inquiry CS. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 7 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Inquiry CS is 1st on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Large, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more. Inquiry CS holds a charter, making it a public charter school.
Inquiry CS had 262 students in 2020-21 and 272 in 2024-25, a 4% rise. The student-to-teacher ratio went up from 10.9:1 to 15.1:1.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. 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
- Discovery CS0.2 mi · 626
- Global Leadership Academy CS0.2 mi · 692
- Blankenburg Rudolph School0.2 mi · 278
- Philadelphia Learning Academy - West0.4 mi · 99
- School of the Future0.5 mi · 569
- KIPP DuBois CS0.6 mi · 523
Frequently asked questions
About Inquiry CSWhat is the total enrollment at Inquiry CS?
Inquiry CS enrolls approximately 272 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Inquiry CS serve?
Inquiry CS serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Inquiry CS have?
Inquiry CS employs 18 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Inquiry CS?
Student demographics at Inquiry CS are roughly 2% White, 4% Hispanic, 85% Black, 9% Two or more.
What district is Inquiry CS in?
Inquiry CS is part of Inquiry CS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.