# Philadelphia schools: citywide data and trends

Fifteen citywide figures for Philadelphia's public, charter, and alternative schools, shown for the city as a whole rather than any single school. Source: primarily the 2024-25 Pennsylvania Future Ready PA Index and PSSA/Keystone results, with enrollment, staffing, and discipline data from School District of Philadelphia open data. Most figures are enrollment-weighted across the schools that report a value. A blank is never counted as a zero, so a citywide figure reflects only reporting schools and can differ from an official districtwide rate.

Live page: https://psdreportcard.com/data.html

## Enrollment and access

### Public-school enrollment by sector, 2014 to 2025 (students)

| Year | District-run | Charter | Alternative |
|------|-------------:|--------:|------------:|
| 2014 | 130,075 | 64,848 | 4,568 |
| 2019 | 124,184 | 77,243 | 4,351 |
| 2022 | 113,443 | 79,205 | 4,640 |
| 2025 | 113,735 | 80,413 | 4,257 |

Total public-school enrollment has held near 200,000. District-run enrollment has declined over the decade while charter enrollment has grown.

### Most competitive selective high schools (applicants per offer; admit rate)

| School | Admit rate | Applicants per offer |
|--------|-----------:|---------------------:|
| Walter B. Saul High School | 4.7% | ~21 |
| High School for Creative and Performing Arts | 5.8% | ~17 |
| Constitution High School | 8.4% | ~12 |
| Kensington High School for Creative and Performing Arts | 9.5% | ~10 |
| Motivation High School | 10.3% | ~10 |
| The Science Leadership Academy at Beeber High School | 10.8% | ~9 |
| Philadelphia High School for Girls | 10.8% | ~9 |
| Julia R. Masterman High School | 15.7% | ~6 |
| High School of the Future | 15.8% | ~6 |

The 14 most competitive of 38 selective-admission programs. Admit rate overstates true selectivity: applications are not unique students, and offers exceed eventual seats.

## Money and staffing

### Average math proficiency by per-pupil spending quartile

| Spending band | Average math proficiency |
|---------------|-------------------------:|
| Lowest-spending quarter | 28% |
| Lower-middle | 19% |
| Upper-middle | 17% |
| Highest-spending quarter | 13% |

Proficiency runs opposite to spending, most likely because the best-funded schools serve the highest-need students.

### Counselor and nurse understaffing (share of schools above the recommended caseload)

| Caseload | Share of schools over the line |
|----------|-------------------------------:|
| Over 250 students per counselor (ASCA) | 48% |
| Over 750 students per nurse | 11% |

### Teacher retention, by school poverty

| Schools | Teacher retention |
|---------|------------------:|
| Highest-poverty half | 80% |
| Lower-poverty half | 86% |

## Academics and growth

### Citywide proficiency by subject (proficient or advanced)

| Subject | Proficiency |
|---------|------------:|
| Reading | 36% |
| Math | 24% |
| Science | 31% |

### Math proficiency by student group

| Group | Math proficiency |
|-------|-----------------:|
| Asian | 61% |
| White | 43% |
| Hispanic | 22% |
| Black | 17% |

### Schools meeting the statewide academic-growth standard (PVAAS 70)

| Sector | Share meeting the standard |
|--------|---------------------------:|
| District-run | 79% |
| Charter | 78% |

## Attendance and discipline

### Chronic absence rate, citywide (consistent 216-school panel)

| Year | Chronic absence |
|------|----------------:|
| 2020 | 27.9% |
| 2021 | 40.4% |
| 2022 | 38.1% |
| 2023 | 37.4% |
| 2024 | 37.1% |
| 2025 | 35.7% |

A student is chronically absent after missing about 10 percent of school. The rate rose sharply in the pandemic years and, while it has eased, still runs above one in three students.

### Out-of-school suspension rate by sector

| Sector | Suspension rate |
|--------|----------------:|
| District-run | 5.8% |
| Charter | 10.1% |

Sectors enroll different, self-selected populations and may count suspensions differently.

## College and readiness

### Graduation and college-going

| Measure | Rate |
|---------|-----:|
| 4-year graduation | 86% |
| 5-year graduation | 89% |
| Enroll in college | 48% |

Averaged across the 86 high schools reporting a 4-year cohort rate. This is higher than the districtwide rate, because lower-graduating alternative and transfer programs often are not included.

### FAFSA completion, citywide

| Year | FAFSA completion |
|------|-----------------:|
| 2022 | 54% |
| 2023 | 39% |
| 2024 | 54% |

Completion fell in 2023, when a delayed federal FAFSA overhaul slowed the form nationwide, and has since recovered.

### Ninth-grade on-track rate

| Year | On-track |
|------|---------:|
| 2022 | 80% |
| 2023 | 82% |
| 2024 | 82% |

## Who Philadelphia's schools serve

### Teaching staff vs. student body (citywide racial composition)

| Group | Students | Teachers |
|-------|---------:|---------:|
| Black | 48% | 25% |
| Hispanic | 26% | 5% |
| White | 14% | 62% |
| Asian | 8% | 2% |
| Other | 4% | 5% |

The share of teachers of color has edged up from 32% in 2016 to 38% in 2025.

### Economically disadvantaged students by sector

| Sector | Economically disadvantaged |
|--------|---------------------------:|
| District-run | 76% |
| Charter | 79% |
| Alternative | 89% |