Philadelphia's District and charter high schools: How are they doing?

The Notebook gathered data including enrollment, student demographics, attendance, and test scores. You can view a PDF of the center spread of data from the print edition, and spreadsheets of District and charter data.

Key to data for District schools

* School serves grades 5-12 ▲ School serves grades 7-12
† In fall 2011, becomes a Renaissance charter school, but with neighborhood boundaries.

SAT, PSSA scores: for 2010 from Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Graduation rates: Rates are for entering 9th graders from fall 2006, from School District of Philadelphia. Students are attributed to their 9th grade school.

College-going rates: Rates are for 2010 Philadelphia high school graduates entering college in fall 2010. Schools with fewer than 15 graduates not listed. Data from National Student Clearinghouse Report, January 2011, via School District of Philadelphia.

All other data are reported by the School District of Philadelphia for the 2010-11 school year.

Key to data for charter schools

SAT and PSSA scores: for 2010 from Pennsylvania Department of Education.

College-going rates: Rates are for 2010 Philadelphia high school graduates entering college in fall 2010. Schools with fewer than 15 graduates not listed. Data from National Student Clearinghouse Report, January 2011, via School District of Philadelphia.

Enrollment, % special education, and % ELL: from School District of Philadelphia.

All other data are reported by the charter schools, from 2010 Charter School Annual Report summaries from Pennsylvania Department of Education. Updated annual reports were filed by schools in August 2011 and will be posted by the Department of Education in fall 2011.

Note: High school suspension rates for charter schools are not available because schools do not track suspensions by grade. Graduation rates for charter schools using a comparable methodology to District schools are also not available.

Types of high schools

Special admission high schools These high schools have specific admissions requirements in the areas of test scores, grades earned in core subjects, and attendance and behavior records. Two other schools have special admissions programs within them. Students across the city may apply.

Citywide admission high schools Students citywide are eligible to apply to these high schools, and those who meet the criteria are entered into a lottery. Each school has different admissions criteria, but most require that students have passing grades in all major subjects and maintain a good attendance, behavior, and punctuality record.

Neighborhood high schools These schools have geographic boundaries; students are guaranteed admission if their school for grade 8 falls within the feeder pattern. Those living outside of the feeder pattern may also apply, but admission is based on available space and determined through a lottery. Some of these are now run by charter school operators as Renaissance Schools. Others are Promise Academies getting extra supports from the School District.