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Penrose School

Public Grades K-8

1230^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,511 Pennsylvania Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of Pennsylvania elementary schools

Summary

Penrose School is a public elementary school serving grades K-8 in the Philadelphia City School District, with 377 students and a student-teacher ratio of 8.7. However, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Pennsylvania elementary schools over the past 10 years, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Penrose School significantly underperforms the Philadelphia City School District and the state of Pennsylvania in both math and English Language Arts proficiency across all grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, only 16.7% of Penrose students were proficient or better in PSSA Math, compared to 25% for the district and 41.7% for the state. Similarly, only 30.4% of Penrose students were proficient or better in PSSA English Language Arts, compared to 33.4% for the district and 48.5% for the state. The performance gap is especially pronounced in math, where Penrose students scored 8-10 percentage points below the district average and 25 percentage points below the state average.

While Penrose School has a high percentage of African American students and low-socioeconomic status students, the performance of these subgroups is still concerning. The nearby Park Lane Elementary School and Colwyn Elementary School, which are outside the Philadelphia City School District, perform significantly better, suggesting that district-level factors may be contributing to the poor performance of Penrose and other Philadelphia schools. Additionally, Penrose School has had high dropout rates in recent years, ranging from 1.4% to 5.5%, which is significantly higher than the state average.

360

Students ?

8.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,651

Per pupil spending ?

104.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2515 S 78th St
Philadelphia, PA 19153-1201

(215) 400-8310

District: Philadelphia City School District

Students who attend Penrose School usually attend:

High:

Bartram John - Main

Racial breakdown:

African American:

79.2%

Hispanic:

8.9%

Asian:

5.3%

See top rated Pennsylvania elementary schools

Compare Penrose School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 6th percentile in 2015 → 19th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 13 percentile points since 2015

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Pennsylvania average (24% vs 45% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Math scores 25 pts below the Pennsylvania average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school24%

District avg29%

Pennsylvania avg45%

Elementary school

1,230^th of 1,511

Pennsylvania public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▲ up 13 pts since 2015

From bottom 6% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Pennsylvania Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

650^th of 873

Pennsylvania public middle schools ?

Bottom 26%▲ up 15 pts since 2015

From bottom 11% (2015) to bottom 26% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Pennsylvania Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

55^th of 148Elementary Schools in the Philadelphia City School District

473^rd of 606Philadelphia City School District among Pennsylvania districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	18.4	1230 of 1511	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	1303 of 1526	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.7	1328 of 1534	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.6	1303 of 1534	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	4.7	1373 of 1433	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.7	1489 of 1544	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.7	1448 of 1530	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.1	1428 of 1547	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	5.1	1462 of 1554	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	5.1	1388 of 1474	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	5.0	1358 of 1467	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	4.6	1418 of 1519	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	7.3	1493 of 1599	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	21.2	1389 of 1597	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	15.9	1405 of 1579	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	15.4	1389 of 1549	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	18.3	1364 of 1551	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	11.8	1420 of 1555	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	14.9	1381 of 1545	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	9.1	1190 of 1299	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	9.5	1168 of 1308	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	3.2	1226 of 1302	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	52.7	159 of 413	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	48.4	200 of 437	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	46.0	200 of 437	54.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	36.1	982 of 1466	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	14.1	1273 of 1488	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	25.7	1073 of 1369	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.2	1197 of 1432	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.5	1198 of 1414	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	21.0	1163 of 1475	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.3	1264 of 1495	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	23.6	650 of 873	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.2	736 of 891	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.4	792 of 893	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	11.2	767 of 883	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	5.7	836 of 891	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.0	807 of 861	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.1	818 of 877	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	6.9	794 of 870	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	8.6	744 of 835	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	4.3	678 of 728	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	16.8	635 of 758	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.0	699 of 834	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	20.3	703 of 825	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	14.5	720 of 805	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	12.9	690 of 770	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	18.0	647 of 753	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	21.5	631 of 749	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	49.7	162 of 393	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	34.0	249 of 408	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.6	317 of 421	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	19.2	665 of 835	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.8	657 of 860	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	31.9	589 of 843	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	19.8	715 of 877	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.4	753 of 874	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	33.5	552 of 839	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	12.3	752 of 870	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

African American (2025)62nd percentile+43 vs school

Female (2025)33rd percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)21st percentile+3 vs school

Middle school

African American (2025)59th percentile+33 vs school

Male (2025)34th percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)30th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2025)20th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs Pennsylvania (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts30%-18 vs state

Math17%-25 vs state

2.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Sunday, February 21, 2016

This school is a disgrace we moved to the area and put our kids in this school. While waiting to enroll our kids there must have been several older kids trolling the halls on our tour of the school they were cursing and chasing each other. When we got to the cafeteria several girls had cell phones out and were recording themselves twerking. Some kids were in the cafeteria but a lot were outside. Several weeks later my child was attacked by another student and the principal did not return my phone calls, he is always busy or not there when you call. I even came in twice around 8am to talk to him and he was not there. I recently found out that a gun was brought to school and several students were robbed but no parent got a call, how does he keep his job. Close Quote

Schools Near Penrose School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSSA Math (2025)							PSSA English Language Arts (2025)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSSA Math 3rd Grade	PSSA Math 4th Grade	PSSA Math 5th Grade	PSSA Math 6th Grade	PSSA Math 7th Grade	PSSA Math 8th Grade	PSSA Math All Grades	PSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Penrose School	Public	K-8	2515 S 78th St	Philadelphia	19153	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(215) 400-8310	360	42	8.6	104.7%	5 (1.4%)	285 (79.2%)	32 (8.9%)	19 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.3%)	18.4	1230^th of 1511 public elementary schools	18.6%		13.9	1303^rd of 1526 public elementary schools	14.6%	73	12.5	25.8	32.0	11.1	5.6	15.4	16.7	18.8	29.0	32.0	22.2	44.5	28.2	30.4	$23,651	$8,214	$15,436
Colwyn Elementary School	Public	K-6	211 Pine Street	Darby	19023	Delaware County	William Penn School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 957-5470	135	8	16.8	117.0%	4 (3.0%)	119 (88.1%)	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	8 (5.9%)	37.9	992^nd of 1511 public elementary schools	34.3%		22.3	1189^th of 1526 public elementary schools	22.1%	197	45.0	42.9	17.6	23.5			33.4	60.0	47.6	29.4	29.4			42.6	$23,224	$1,141	$22,083
Philadelphia Montessori Charter School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-6	2227 Island Rd	Philadelphia	19142	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia Montessori Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(215) 365-4011	226	21	10.7	98.7%	1 (0.4%)	211 (93.4%)	8 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.7%)	6.1	1454^th of 1511 public elementary schools	3.8%		5.3	1457^th of 1526 public elementary schools	4.5%	3	17.7	4.4					11.1	17.8	17.4					17.6	$19,041	$4,066	$14,975
Walnut Street Elementary School	Public	K-6	224 South Sixth Street	Darby	19023	Delaware County	William Penn School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 534-5660	255	30	8.5	112.2%	6 (2.4%)	218 (85.5%)	6 (2.4%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	21 (8.2%)	8.3	1385^th of 1511 public elementary schools	8.3%		7.6	1398^th of 1526 public elementary schools	8.4%	13	10.7	25.9	6.5	7.2			12.1	7.2	19.4	12.9	17.1			14.5	$22,352	$1,108	$21,244
Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	7101 Paschall Ave	Philadelphia	19142	Philadelphia County	Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(215) 729-1939	670	35	19.1	87.9%	1 (0.1%)	599 (89.4%)	55 (8.2%)	6 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (1.0%)	10	1352^nd of 1511 public elementary schools	10.5%		8.5	1384^th of 1526 public elementary schools	9.3%	32	39.2	9.5	3.8	6.5	10.7	10.0	13.1	14.6	6.8	10.1	26.9	32.0	40.0	20.4	$18,030	$7,840	$10,190
Patterson John Middle School	Public	PK, KG-4	7000 Buist Ave	Philadelphia	19142	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(215) 400-8190	391	28	13.8	102.0%	4 (1.0%)	316 (80.8%)	33 (8.4%)	20 (5.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.1%)	14.3	1284^th of 1511 public elementary schools	15.0%		5.7	1448^th of 1526 public elementary schools	5.1%	164	31.7	20.0					26.1	28.4	21.5					25.0	$17,715	$3,935	$13,780
Sharon Hill School	Public	K-8	701 Coates Street	Sharon Hill	19079	Delaware County	Southeast Delco School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 522-4355	552	49	11.2	96.2%	30 (5.4%)	460 (83.3%)	38 (6.9%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.6%)	20.9	1184^th of 1511 public elementary schools	21.6%		20.8	1206^th of 1526 public elementary schools	21.0%	22	42.8	18.0	9.5	19.2	16.4	9.2	18.5	39.3	24.0	23.3	32.9	32.9	29.2	30.3	$11,516	$1,784	$9,733
Vision Academy Charter School of Excellence	Public, Charter	K-4	1016 School Street	Sharon Hill	19079	Delaware County	Vision Academy Charter School of Excellence	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(484) 494-1816	235	15	15.6		2 (0.9%)	217 (92.3%)	13 (5.5%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)								(n/a)
Bell Avenue School	Public	K-6	1000 Bell Ave	Yeadon	19050	Delaware County	William Penn School District	No	No	No	Yes	(610) 284-6100	265	19	13.9	90.6%	7 (2.6%)	235 (88.7%)	5 (1.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (6.0%)	8.7	1379^th of 1511 public elementary schools	8.7%		10.9	1346^th of 1526 public elementary schools	11.8%	33	25.8	11.8	13.3	8.3			14.8	17.1	8.8	14.3	19.4			15.0	$21,407	$1,050	$20,357
Catharine Joseph School	Public	PK, KG-5	6600 Chester Ave	Philadelphia	19142	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(215) 400-8150	437	36	12.2	96.3%	7 (1.6%)	295 (67.5%)	84 (19.2%)	23 (5.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.9%)	21.7	1173^rd of 1511 public elementary schools	22.4%		11.2	1342^nd of 1526 public elementary schools	12.1%	169	36.3	21.6	27.7				28.7	31.4	25.5	29.3				28.8	$20,053	$8,062	$11,991

Frequently Asked Questions about Penrose School

How many students attend Penrose School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 360 students attended Penrose School.

Is Penrose School a good school?

Penrose School ranks in the bottom 18.6% of Pennsylvania elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Penrose School attend?

Students who attend Penrose School usually go on to attend:

High : Bartram John - Main

What district is Penrose School in?

Philadelphia City School District

What is the racial makeup of Penrose School?

Students at Penrose School are 79% African American, 9% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 5% Two or more races, 1% White.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.