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What's the best and worst thing about the food at Penn Alexander Sch?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
595
Elementary
DISTRICT 474 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899000619
Penn Alexander School
4209 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 · (215) 400-7760 · Philadelphia County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL595 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- A+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
16.4:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
584 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 | 80 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 72 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 72 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 70 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 64 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 61 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 53 | 9% |
| Grade 8 | 51 | 9% |
This year's kindergarten class (80) is 57% larger than its 8th grade class (51).
Student demographics
69%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
89.9%
PA avg 51.1% . +0.7pp since 2023
Math
89.0%
PA avg 43.0% . +4.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 90 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 89 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 4 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 89.9% | 89.0% |
| 2023-24 | 89.2% | 84.9% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of PA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
88.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.5%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+53.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 89% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 36% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 53 points, placing it in Pennsylvania's top 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 Penn Alexander School
Penn Alexander School's state test result (88.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Alexander School this school | 595 | 98.2% | 88.8% |
| Comly Watson School Philadelphia | 618 | 95.0% | 49.2% |
| Paxtonia Elementary School Harrisburg | 682 | 99.3% | 65.7% |
| North Side Elementary School Harrisburg | 722 | 97.6% | 55.4% |
| Pittsburgh Colfax K-8 Pittsburgh | 789 | 93.9% | 66.6% |
| Carnegie Elementary School Carnegie | 408 | 98.3% | 44.1% |
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 Penn Alexander School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 88.8% | #15 of 1,396 | #1 of 161 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 89.0% | #19 of 1,511 ▲ 9 | #1 of 193 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 89.9% | #6 of 1,511 ▲ 13 | #2 of 193 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 595 | #271 of 1,638 | #59 of 194 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #1,421 of 1,528 | #162 of 189 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.3% | #112 of 1,531 | #27 of 189 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.2% | #452 of 1,600 | #111 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.3% | #350 of 450 | #34 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
595
+19 (+3%) vs 2020
-5% since 2010-11, when it was 626
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 14.4:1
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 | 595 | 36.4 | 16.4:1 | 98% (584) |
| 2023-24 | 583 | 37.2 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 579 | 36.5 | 15.9:1 | 100% (579) |
| 2020-21 | 576 | 40 | 14.4:1 | 99% (573) |
| 2017-18 | 576 | 32.3 | 17.8:1 | 100% (576) |
| 2015-16 | 556 | 35 | 15.9:1 | 100% (556) |
| 2010-11 | 626 | 39 | 16.1:1 | 24% (152) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Penn Alexander School.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (576 to 595); teachers up 13% (32.3 to 36.4).
About Penn Alexander School
Penn Alexander School is a medium-sized elementary school. Its address is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It covers kindergarten through 8, with a total enrollment of 595 students. Enrollment is 34% higher than the average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania, which is about 443.
Philadelphia City SD has 116,230 students spread across 220 schools.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Penn Alexander School is White (46%). Other groups include 25% Asian, 12% Black, 10% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. The county population is about 35% White. By the diversity index, Penn Alexander School comes in at 69%.
The school has about 16.4 students per teacher and 36.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That ratio is over the 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 98%.
Measured against Pennsylvania public elementary schools, Penn Alexander School receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Penn Alexander School is in the top 10% of Pennsylvania schools: 88.8% actual against 35.5% predicted.
Within Philadelphia County, median household income is about $61,953, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 17% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Philadelphia County number 309 and enroll about 182,005.
Nearest public school: Robeson HS for Human Services, about 0.3 miles away. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. On average proficiency, Penn Alexander School is 1st of 8 nearby schools with test data.
The school's locale code, City: Large, means it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count climbed from 576 to 595. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (16.4:1) than in 2020-21 (14.4:1).
Threads on this page can be about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
- Robeson HS for Human Services0.3 mi · 266
- Lea Henry C School0.4 mi · 503
- KIPP Philadelphia Octavius Catto CS0.6 mi · 398
- The Workshop School0.6 mi · 214
- Locke Alain School0.7 mi · 264
- West Philadelphia High School0.7 mi · 718
Frequently asked questions
About Penn Alexander SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Penn Alexander School?
Penn Alexander School enrolls approximately 595 students in grades KG-08.
Is Penn Alexander School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Penn Alexander School is an elementary school covering grades KG-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Penn Alexander School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Penn Alexander School is approximately 16.4:1 (36 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Penn Alexander School?
At Penn Alexander School, the student body is approximately 46% White, 6% Hispanic, 12% Black, 25% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Penn Alexander School in?
Penn Alexander School is part of Philadelphia City SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.