Dozens Of Philly Schools Among Best For Grades K-8: U.S. News

PHILADELPHIA— Dozens of elementary and middle schools in the Philadelphia City School District have been ranked among the best in Pennsylvania, according to a brand-new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News ranked the Julia Reynolds Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School the best middle school in the state.

For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States.

Schools are ranked at the state and district levels. The best charter schools and best magnet schools ranked as stand-alone categories.

Here’s a look at how the top five schools in the Philly CSD ranked, compared with others in the state:

Elementary schools

57: William M. Meredith School
95: Albert M. Greenfield School
98: Alexander Penn School
131: Gen. George A. McCall School
199: Abram Jenks School

Middle schools

1: Julia R. Masterman School

2. Alexander Penn School

4. Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP)

7. G.W. Carver High School of Engineering and Science

11. William M. Meredith School

To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:

• Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
• Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.

The state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-19 school year and, therefore, predates any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on test-taking.

Schools were also ranked by district. Here are the top 10 elementary and middle schools in the Philadelphia City School district:

Elementary schools

1. William M. Meredith School

2. Albert M. Greenfield School

3. Alexander Penn School

4. Gen. George A. McCall School

5. Abram Jenks School

6. Anne Frank School

7. Joseph Greenberg School

8. Samuel Powell School

9. Charles W. Henry School

10. George W. Nebinger School

Middle schools

1: Julia R. Masterman School
2. Alexander Penn School
3. Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP)
4. G.W. Carver High School of Engineering and Science
5. William M. Meredith School

6. Joseph Greenberg School

7. Gen. George A. McCall School

8. Albert M. Greenfield School

9. C.C.A. Baldi School

10. Eliza B. Kirkbride School

Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools.

California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.

See the complete list of 2021’s Best K-8 Schools.