The Light Bearer

How Black students are performing in Pennsylvania schools

In Pennsylvania, 30.1% of Black students are proficient in reading at the typical school — against 53.2% of White students. Within Philadelphia alone, the gap between the best and worst schools for Black children is 79 points. This tool helps you find the right one.

Search Pennsylvania schools ›
38%
All students
26%
Black
30.4%
Hispanic
49.9%
White
62.9%
Asian

Share of students meeting proficient at the typical Pennsylvania school. Groups are shown wherever Pennsylvania reports them; a group is omitted from a school when too few students were tested to report safely.

These figures come from PSSA 2025, measuring proficient in ELA & Math · Grades 3–8. Across 370 districts, 1,156 Pennsylvania schools report enough results to be included.

At the typical Pennsylvania school the picture is black students at 26%, hispanic students at 30.4%, white students at 49.9% and asian students at 62.9%. That is a 36.9-point spread between the highest and lowest group, inside the same schools, the same districts and the same state — which is what this tool exists to make visible.

What the Pennsylvania data shows

Landscape
1

Pennsylvania schools earn an A for Black students

An A means 80% or more of Black students are proficient. One school clears it. Greenberg Joseph School in Philadelphia comes closest at scale, at 68.9% across 148 Black student results. Seven schools reach 70%.

Disparity
79.3 pts

gap between the best and worst schools for Black students in Philadelphia

Carver HS reaches 79.3%. Elkin Lewis School, in the same district, reports 0%. Across 165 schools in one district, a child's address decides which end they land on.

Statewide
35.1 pts

separates Black and White students in Pennsylvania math

15.7% of Black students are proficient in math, against 50.8% of White students. Reading is 31.7 points.

Where Black students are doing best in Pennsylvania

These are the schools where Black students most often meet proficient, among those with at least 25 Black student results reported. Every group's result is shown alongside, because a school that serves one group well and another poorly is telling you something too.

SchoolAllBlackHispanicWhiteAsian
Marshall MsNorth Allegheny School District 73.8% 80% 38.9% 68.7% 85.1%
Carver HsPhiladelphia City School District Magnet 80.7% 79.3% 78.6% 91.7%
Glenwood El SchRose Tree Media School District 76.6% 76.9% 74.3% 88.6%
Kernsville SchParkland School District 76.7% 75% 51.9% 79.6% 75%
Scenic Hills El SchSpringfield School District 84.2% 75% 87.5% 83.8% 90%
Kratzer SchParkland School District 67.1% 73.5% 54.3% 71.8% 80%
Montgomery El SchNorth Penn School District 72.7% 72.5% 28.6% 70.5% 83.2%
Greenberg Joseph SchPhiladelphia City School District 71.5% 68.9% 60% 67.2% 78.9%
Penn Alexander SchPhiladelphia City School District 89.5% 67.9% 77.8% 93.8% 91.7%
South El SchPerkiomen Valley School District 72.2% 66.7% 50% 73% 91.7%

Flags show magnet, charter, alternative and virtual schools. Some campuses — early college and specialized academies among them — also admit by application, and this page cannot yet identify all of them. Check with the district before assuming a school is open to your address.

Where Black students are struggling most

The same measure at the other end of the range. In many of these schools every group is falling short, which points at the school rather than at the students in it.

SchoolAllBlackHispanicWhiteAsian
Elkin Lewis SchPhiladelphia City School District 6.9% 0% 8.3%
Brownsville Area MsBrownsville Area School District 20.3% 0% 22.1%
Downey SchHarrisburg City School District 3% 1.2% 3.6%
Reeceville El SchCoatesville Area School District 26.7% 1.4% 22.4% 54.5%
Aspira Bilingual Cyber CsAspira Bilingual Cyber Charter School CharterVirtual 3.1% 2.1% 2.8%
Greater Johnstown ShsGreater Johnstown School District 6.8% 2.8% 9.7% 13.1%
Innovative Arts Academy CsInnovative Arts Academy Charter School Charter 4.9% 2.9% 4.1%
Fountain Hill El SchBethlehem Area School District 12.7% 2.9% 10.9% 36.5%
Achievement House CsAchievement House Charter School CharterVirtual 17.4% 2.9% 13.9% 30.6%
Rowland AcademyHarrisburg City School District 1.8% 3% 1.2%

One district, two outcomes

In Philadelphia City School District, Carver Hs reports 79.3% of Black students meeting the standard. Elkin Lewis Sch, in the same district, reports 0%. That is a 79.3-point spread across 165 schools under one administration, serving one community, funded by one tax base — the clearest illustration of why address matters more than it should.

Pennsylvania districts

Districts with at least ten schools reporting Black student results, by school count. The percentage shown is the average across that district's schools for Black students.

Philadelphia City School District — 165 schools, 19.9% average
Pittsburgh School District — 44 schools, 20.6% average
Allentown City School District — 17 schools, 18.3% average
Lancaster School District — 17 schools, 19.6% average
Bethlehem Area School District — 16 schools, 24.1% average
Central Dauphin School District — 16 schools, 28.8% average
North Penn School District — 14 schools, 38.9% average
Erie City School District — 13 schools, 8.8% average
Upper Darby School District — 11 schools, 20.1% average
Harrisburg City School District — 10 schools, 8.4% average
Norristown Area School District — 9 schools, 26% average
Reading School District — 9 schools, 12.2% average
William Penn School District — 9 schools, 22.5% average
Abington School District — 8 schools, 38.4% average
Bensalem Township School District — 8 schools, 22.2% average
Coatesville Area School District — 8 schools, 15.4% average
East Stroudsburg Area School District — 8 schools, 32.1% average
Scranton School District — 8 schools, 15% average
York City School District — 8 schools, 11.7% average
Altoona Area School District — 7 schools, 22.2% average
Easton Area School District — 7 schools, 26.3% average
Lower Merion School District — 7 schools, 50.8% average
Parkland School District — 7 schools, 59.1% average
Wilkes-Barre Area School District — 7 schools, 25.1% average
Carlisle Area School District — 6 schools, 30% average
Chambersburg Area School District — 6 schools, 27.7% average
Cheltenham School District — 6 schools, 37.1% average
Hempfield School District — 6 schools, 35.2% average
Pennsbury School District — 6 schools, 27.3% average
Pocono Mountain School District — 6 schools, 28.8% average
Ridley School District — 6 schools, 34.9% average
Bristol Township School District — 5 schools, 16.5% average
Chester-Upland School District — 5 schools, 8.8% average
Chichester School District — 5 schools, 32.1% average
Cumberland Valley School District — 5 schools, 42.2% average
Gateway School District — 5 schools, 38.1% average
Penn Manor School District — 5 schools, 40.8% average
Pottstown School District — 5 schools, 27.1% average
Upper Merion Area School District — 5 schools, 33.6% average
West Chester Area School District — 5 schools, 37.1% average
How these averages are calculated. The figures above average across Pennsylvania schools, giving each school equal weight. They describe the typical school, not the state's tested population, and will differ from the headline figure PSSA 2025 publishes — that one weights every student equally, so larger schools count for more. Use the state's own published figure when citing a statewide number.

How to read the school data. Pennsylvania suppresses results for groups with too few students tested. Schools without a reportable Black student result are excluded rather than shown as zero — 1,156 of Pennsylvania's schools have reportable data. Coverage is grades 3–8; high schools are not included. This ranking reflects the 2024–25 administration, grades 3–8. Results are refreshed annually as new data is published. Because every state sets its own proficiency standard, Pennsylvania's figures should not be compared directly against another state's.

Other states

Texas Alabama Florida Georgia Illinois Louisiana Mississippi Minnesota Missouri Virginia Ohio California Colorado District of Columbia Delaware Connecticut Indiana Kentucky Massachusetts Maryland Michigan New Jersey Nevada New York Oklahoma Washington Wisconsin North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee