The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Shawmont Sch
Shawmont School serves pre-K through eighth grade in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, along the Schuylkill River in the northwest part of the city. It is a regular public school serving a small enrollment typical for an elementary-to-middle school in Philadelphia's neighborhood system. All students enrolled at the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a reflection of the city's broader economic profile.
The school's student body is mixed in racial and ethnic composition. A substantial share identify as Black, roughly a quarter as white, and smaller shares as Hispanic, Asian, or multiracial. Three students identify as American Indian or Alaska Native and one as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Data on English learner status and students with IEPs was not available, so a reader interested in these populations should contact the school directly.
On state testing, Shawmont's performance shows a landscape of uneven results across subjects. In English language arts on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (grades 3-8), about half of tested students met proficiency. In math, the share of students meeting proficiency fell to around one-third, a notably lower rate. Science data is from an earlier year and showed roughly half meeting proficiency. For a parent considering this school, the math results warrant conversation with staff about what instruction looks like, how the school is addressing the gap, and what support exists for students working toward proficiency.
Philadelphia's broader school district recently adopted new math and reading curricula city-wide. Starting in 2023-24, all Philadelphia schools moved to Illustrative Mathematics for K-12, and in 2024-25 they shifted to a science-of-reading approach using EL Education for elementary grades and StudySync for high school. This means Shawmont's reading and math instruction follows a standardized districtwide framework, but district-level reading scores dipped slightly after the first year of the new curriculum, so parents may want to track how the school's performance evolves under the new materials.
The Philadelphia property tax system has also shifted in ways that affect both school funding and homeowner costs. The city raised the school district's share of property tax revenue and completed a 2024 property reassessment that will add significant new revenue to schools over time, though it raised tax bills for homeowners. The city also increased the homestead exemption to provide some relief for owner-occupied homes.
One major district change to track: in April 2026, the Board of Education approved a facilities master plan that will close a substantial number of schools over the coming decade, reshape catchment areas, and modernize campuses. The plan touches nearly every school in the system, so a parent should learn whether Shawmont itself is affected or whether neighboring schools have closure or merger plans that could shift the school's catchment or peer group in the coming years.
Philadelphia itself is a walkable historic city organized around rowhouse neighborhoods, with strong civic anchors including an extensive park system, a major public library network, and SEPTA regional transit. The city has grown modestly in recent years, with new housing concentrated mainly in Center City; the northwest neighborhoods around Shawmont remain more residential and established. Housing values in the school's ZIP code are stable and modest relative to the state and national benchmarks. A family at Shawmont would live in an urban neighborhood setting with neighborhood schools and local commercial corridors.
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