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If you could change one rule at Lowell James R Sch, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
503
Elementary
DISTRICT 474 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899003746
Lowell James R School
450 W Nedro Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19120 · (215) 400-3740 · Philadelphia County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL503 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 15% 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.
- 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
15.1:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
104%
522 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 | 35 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 84 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 111 | 22% |
| Grade 2 | 109 | 22% |
| Grade 3 | 79 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 85 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (84) is about the same size as its 4th grade class (85).
Student demographics
56%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
23.4%
PA avg 51.1% . -3.0pp since 2023
Math
23.1%
PA avg 43.0% . +11.2pp 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 23 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 23.4% | 23.1% |
| 2023-24 | 26.4% | 11.9% |
% 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
25.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.1%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 Lowell James R School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.1% | #1,236 of 1,396 | #72 of 161 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 23.1% | #1,251 of 1,511 ▲ 115 | #63 of 193 ▲ 35 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 23.4% | #1,305 of 1,511 ▲ 22 | #97 of 193 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 503 | #526 of 1,638 | #84 of 194 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.1:1 | #1,284 of 1,528 | #139 of 189 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.1% | #416 of 1,531 | #68 of 189 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 104% | #154 of 1,600 | #42 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -36.2% | #53 of 1,045 | #31 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
503
-148 (-23%) vs 2020
-52% since 1990-91, when it was 1,047
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
was 16.3:1
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 | 503 | 33.2 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 522 | 30.4 | 17.2:1 | 100% (522) |
| 2022-23 | 530 | 37 | 14.3:1 | 100% (530) |
| 2020-21 | 651 | 40 | 16.3:1 | 100% (648) |
| 2017-18 | 788 | 41.9 | 18.8:1 | 100% (787) |
| 2015-16 | 870 | 44 | 19.8:1 | 100% (870) |
| 2010-11 | 1,026 | 62 | 16.6:1 | 96% (990) |
| 2000-01 | 1,167 | 55 | 21.2:1 | 55% (645) |
| 1990-91 | 1,047 | 46 | 22.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Lowell James R School.
Since 2017-18: students down 36% (788 to 503); teachers down 21% (41.9 to 33.2).
About Lowell James R School
Lowell James R School is a mid-sized elementary school found in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It reported 503 students in pre-K through 4 in 2024-25.
Philadelphia City SD has 116,230 students spread across 220 schools.
About 61% of the student body at Lowell James R School is Black. Other groups include 23% Hispanic, 9% Asian, and 5% multiracial. By comparison, Philadelphia County residents are about 39% Black. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 56, compared with 70 nationally.
Lowell James R School lists 33.2 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 15.1 students per teacher. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania is 13.1:1.
On the allk12 Grade, Lowell James R School lands at C-, ahead of 15% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools.
Test results at Lowell James R School are 8.0 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (25.1% actual, 33.1% predicted).
Census data for Philadelphia County show median household income comes to about $61,953, about 35% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 17%. The county has 309 public schools and about 182,005 students.
Eugenio Maria DE Hostos CS sits about 0.6 miles from Lowell James R School. Lowell James R School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Among 6 nearby schools that report test results, Lowell James R School ranks 2nd on proficiency.
Lowell James R School is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels City: Large.
The school's enrollment fell 23% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (15.1:1) than in 2020-21 (16.3:1).
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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
- Eugenio Maria DE Hostos CS0.6 mi · 631
- ASPIRA Bilingual Cyber CS0.6 mi · 1,038
- Finletter Thomas K School0.6 mi · 607
- Howe Julia Ward School0.7 mi · 229
- Washington Grover Jr School0.7 mi · 400
- Morrison Andrew J School0.8 mi · 508
Frequently asked questions
About Lowell James R SchoolHow large is Lowell James R School?
Lowell James R School enrolls approximately 503 students in grades PK-04.
Is Lowell James R School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Lowell James R School is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many teachers does Lowell James R School have?
Lowell James R School employs 33 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.1:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Lowell James R School?
At Lowell James R School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 23% Hispanic, 61% Black, 9% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Lowell James R School?
Lowell James R 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.