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Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the Pennsylvania Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the Pennsylvania Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

Building 21

Public Grades 9-12

659^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 681 Pennsylvania High Schools

Better than 3% of Pennsylvania high schools

Summary

Building 21 is a public high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving 382 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Philadelphia City School District, which has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Building 21 has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Pennsylvania high schools, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school significantly underperforms compared to the district and state on standardized tests, with only 2.9% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in Keystone Exams/Algebra I, compared to 25.1% for the district and 44.3% for the state. Building 21's 4-year graduation rate is slightly below the district and state averages, and its dropout rate has been higher in recent years. The school serves a student population that is 100% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a very high level of economic disadvantage.

When comparing Building 21 to other nearby schools, such as the Hill Freedman World Academy, it is clear that the school is an outlier in terms of academic performance. Hill Freedman World Academy, a magnet school just 1.68 miles away, significantly outperforms Building 21 on standardized tests and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. Building 21's persistent academic challenges and lack of improvement over time suggest that the school may be facing systemic issues that require a comprehensive, data-driven approach to address.

371

Students ?

20.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,282

Per pupil spending ?

103%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6501 Limekiln Pike
Philadelphia, PA 19138

(215) 400-7450

District: Philadelphia City School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

91.4%

Hispanic:

5.4%

Two or more races:

2.2%

See top rated Pennsylvania high schools

Compare Building 21 to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 5th percentile in 2019 → 3rd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Pennsylvania average (10% vs 52% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)

!Biology scores 46 pts below the Pennsylvania average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school10%

District avg35%

Pennsylvania avg52%

659^th of 681

Pennsylvania public high schools ?

Bottom 3%▼ down 2 pts since 2019

See the entire ranking list of Pennsylvania High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

47^th of 54High 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	2.7	659 of 681	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.0	665 of 686	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	3.0	668 of 674	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	4.6	600 of 634	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.4	655 of 693	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	13.4	249 of 276	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.2	264 of 284	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.6	247 of 260	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	13.1	505 of 524	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.7	476 of 513	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.7	498 of 502	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	2.6	637 of 657	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	1.8	662 of 665	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	4.5	630 of 651	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.5	641 of 664	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.3	643 of 652	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	2.9	643 of 660	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.0	622 of 662	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)10th percentile+7 vs school

Disabled (2025)4th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Female (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school

By subject vs Pennsylvania (2024-2025) ?

Literature24%-38 vs state

Biology3%-46 vs state

Algebra I3%-41 vs state

★

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Schools Near Building 21

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Keystone Exams Algebra I (2025)	Keystone Exams Biology (2025)	Keystone Exams Literature (2025)	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 (2025)	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	Keystone Exams Algebra I 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Biology 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Literature 11th Grade	PSSA Math 6th Grade	PSSA Math 7th Grade	PSSA Math 8th Grade	PSSA Math All Grades	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
Building 21	Public	9-12	6501 Limekiln Pike	Philadelphia	19138	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(215) 400-7450	371	18	20.5	103.0%	1 (0.3%)	339 (91.4%)	20 (5.4%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.2%)	2.7	659^th of 681 public high schools	3.2%		3	665^th of 686 public high schools	3.1%	6	2.9	3.1	24.2									$20,282	$7,876	$12,406
Imhotep Institute Charter High School	Public, Charter	9-12	6201 N. 21st Street	Philadelphia	19138	Philadelphia County	Imhotep Institute Charter High School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(215) 438-4140	603	27	22.3	83.4%	1 (0.2%)	560 (92.9%)	21 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.5%)	4	645^th of 681 public high schools	5.3%		2.5	670^th of 686 public high schools	2.3%	25	3.1	4.7	30.8									$20,602	$5,566	$15,036
King Martin Luther High School	Public	9-12	6100 Stenton Ave	Philadelphia	19138	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(215) 400-3500	527	34	15.4	100.0%	6 (1.1%)	470 (89.2%)	31 (5.9%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.8%)	2.9	657^th of 681 public high schools	3.5%		2.1	676^th of 686 public high schools	1.5%	19	2.8	9.4	19.7									$24,626	$10,010	$14,615
Parkway Northwest	Public, Magnet	9-12	6200 Crittenden St.	Philadelphia	19138	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(215) 400-3390	238	12	20.3	91.6%	0 (0.0%)	215 (90.3%)	8 (3.4%)	3 (1.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.6%)	10.9	594^th of 681 public high schools	12.8%		19.8	557^th of 686 public high schools	18.8%	37	8.5	8.5	45.8									$23,260	$9,140	$14,120
Girls High School	Public, Magnet	9-12	1400 W Olney Ave	Philadelphia	19141	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(215) 400-3700	592	34	17.5	122.0%	20 (3.4%)	396 (66.9%)	63 (10.6%)	78 (13.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (5.9%)	52.4	362^nd of 681 public high schools	46.8%		56.1	332^nd of 686 public high schools	51.6%	30	31.6	48.4	70.8									$19,433	$7,258	$12,174
Central High School	Public, Magnet	9-12	1700 W Olney Ave	Philadelphia	19141	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(215) 400-3590	2,329	88	26.5	98.2%	609 (26.1%)	524 (22.5%)	249 (10.7%)	821 (35.3%)	4 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	120 (5.2%)	91.7	40^th of 681 public high schools	94.1%		98.1	4^th of 686 public high schools	99.4%	36	69.9	69.2	96.2									$16,493	$6,441	$10,052
Hill Freedman World Academy	Public, Magnet	6-12	1100 E. Mt. Pleasant Ave.	Philadelphia	19150	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(215) 400-3530	640	48	13.3	89.4%	10 (1.6%)	553 (86.4%)	34 (5.3%)	11 (1.7%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.5%)	57.3	319^th of 681 public high schools	53.2%		56.8	326^th of 686 public high schools	52.5%	7	42.4	39.4	78.5	10.3	37.2	34.4	24.3	58.1	81.4	56.7	62.8	$19,930	$5,987	$13,943
Mastery Cs-Pickett Campus	Public, Charter	6-12	5700 Wayne Avenue	Philadelphia	19144	Philadelphia County	Mastery CS-Pickett Campus	Yes	No	No	Yes	(215) 866-9000	929	59	15.8	97.5%	6 (0.6%)	854 (91.9%)	39 (4.2%)	2 (0.2%)	6 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (2.4%)	13.9	579^th of 681 public high schools	15.0%		7.5	623^rd of 686 public high schools	9.2%	44	17.7	14.1	45.4	4.6	8.3	17.6	10.8	26.4	31.0	39.3	33.0	$26,268	$5,490	$20,778
Cheltenham High School	Public	9-12	500 Rices Mill Rd	Wyncote	19095	Montgomery County	Cheltenham School District	No	No	No	No	(215) 517-3700	1,450	107	13.6	47.2%	321 (22.1%)	819 (56.5%)	132 (9.1%)	70 (4.8%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	105 (7.2%)	47.4	403^rd of 681 public high schools	40.8%		47.7	402^nd of 686 public high schools	41.4%	1	41.4	45.6	56.7									$26,748	$980	$25,768
Olney High School	Public	9-12	100 W Duncannon Ave	Philadelphia	19120	Philadelphia County	Philadelphia City School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(215) 400-4000	1,168	56	20.9	99.7%	10 (0.9%)	452 (38.7%)	597 (51.1%)	60 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	47 (4.0%)	5.7	629^th of 681 public high schools	7.6%		4.7	644^th of 686 public high schools	6.1%	15	6.9	17.9	25.7									$20,160	$3,887	$16,273

Frequently Asked Questions about Building 21

Is Building 21 a good school?

Building 21 ranks in the bottom 3.2% of Pennsylvania high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Building 21?

Students at Building 21 are 91% African American, 5% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

What district is Building 21 in?

Philadelphia City School District

How many students attend Building 21?

In the 2024-25 school year, 371 students attended Building 21.

Rate Building 21!

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Latest Pennsylvania data All new data »

2024–25 graduation ratesMar 29, 2026

2024–25 dropout ratesMar 27, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataJan 29, 2026

2024–25 Keystone Exams & PSSA scoresNov 13, 2025

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.