1
What's the one class at West Philadelphia HS every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
718
High
DISTRICT 689 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899003860
West Philadelphia High School
4901 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19139 · (215) 400-7900 · Philadelphia County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL718 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 2% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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
20.9:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.7:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
593 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 | 202 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 212 | 30% |
| Grade 11 | 158 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 146 | 20% |
Student demographics
19%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
19.4%
PA avg 51.1% . -4.8pp since 2023
Math
3.2%
PA avg 43.0% . +1.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 19 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 3 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 19.4% | 3.2% |
| 2023-24 | 24.2% | 2.0% |
% 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
9.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.2%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-32.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 42% 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 West Philadelphia High School
West Philadelphia High School's state test result (9.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Philadelphia High School this school | 718 | 82.6% | 9.5% |
| Imhotep Institute CHS Philadelphia | 603 | 83.4% | 10.7% |
| Hill Freedman World Academy Philadelphia | 640 | 89.4% | 47.2% |
| TECH Freire CS Philadelphia | 541 | 90.8% | 29.9% |
| Overbrook High School Philadelphia | 440 | 88.9% | 12.8% |
| Freire CS Philadelphia | 1,024 | 93.1% | 23.9% |
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 West Philadelphia High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 9.5% | #564 of 576 | #53 of 57 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 3.2% | #599 of 626 ▲ 9 | #59 of 67 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 19.4% | #600 of 626 ▼ 10 | #62 of 67 ▼ 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 718 | #265 of 713 | #21 of 70 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.9:1 | #578 of 601 | #49 of 65 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 19.2% | #387 of 604 | #52 of 65 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.6% | #256 of 619 | #66 of 67 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +56.1% | #3 of 221 | #1 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
718
+346 (+93%) vs 2020
-52% since 1990-91, when it was 1,491
Student : Teacher
20.9:1
was 11.6:1
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 | 718 | 34.3 | 20.9:1 | 83% (593) |
| 2023-24 | 593 | 49.3 | 12.0:1 | 100% (593) |
| 2022-23 | 543 | 41.5 | 13.1:1 | 100% (543) |
| 2020-21 | 372 | 32 | 11.6:1 | 99% (369) |
| 2017-18 | 460 | 32.7 | 14.1:1 | 99% (457) |
| 2015-16 | 527 | 11 | 47.9:1 | 100% (527) |
| 2010-11 | 839 | 66 | 12.7:1 | 100% (836) |
| 2000-01 | 1,606 | 88 | 18.3:1 | 84% (1,342) |
| 1990-91 | 1,491 | 83 | 18.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West Philadelphia High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 56% (460 to 718); teachers up 5% (32.7 to 34.3).
About West Philadelphia High School
West Philadelphia High School, a medium-sized high school, is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 718 students in grades 9 through 12.
Within Philadelphia City SD, West Philadelphia High School is one of 220 schools. The district enrolls 116,230 students.
The student body at West Philadelphia High School is 90% Black. Other groups include 4% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, and 2% Asian. By comparison, Philadelphia County residents are about 39% Black. West Philadelphia High School's diversity index is 19%, against a US figure of 70%.
The count of teachers at West Philadelphia High School is 34.3 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 20.9:1. That is 8.2 students per teacher above the 12.8:1 average for high schools in Pennsylvania. Around 83% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. For comparison, public schools in Philadelphia County average 95%.
Measured against Pennsylvania public high schools, West Philadelphia High School receives an F. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
West Philadelphia High School is in the bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools on the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure. Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 42.2%. The school's actual rate is 9.5%, 32.7 points lower.
Within Philadelphia County, the median household income is $61,953, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides West Philadelphia High School, Philadelphia County has 308 other public schools.
Nearest public school: The Workshop School, about 0.2 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. West Philadelphia High School's average proficiency of 9.5% compares with 17.5% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Under the NCES locale system, West Philadelphia High School is City: Large.
Federal records list enrollment at West Philadelphia High School as 372 in 2020-21 and 718 in 2024-25. A change that size can reflect a shift in the grades the school serves as well as a change in students. Students per teacher rose from 11.6 in 2020-21 to 20.9 in 2024-25.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at West Philadelphia High School. 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
- The Workshop School0.2 mi · 214
- KIPP Philadelphia Octavius Catto CS0.3 mi · 398
- Lea Henry C School0.3 mi · 503
- Locke Alain School0.5 mi · 264
- Middle Years Alternative0.5 mi · 128
- Parkway West0.5 mi · 149
Frequently asked questions
About West Philadelphia High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at West Philadelphia High School?
West Philadelphia High School enrolls approximately 718 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does West Philadelphia High School serve?
West Philadelphia High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at West Philadelphia High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at West Philadelphia High School is approximately 20.9:1 (34 FTE teachers).
How diverse is West Philadelphia High School?
West Philadelphia High School reports a student body of 1% White, 4% Hispanic, 90% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees West Philadelphia High School?
West Philadelphia 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.