The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Science. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Dick William Sch
Dick William School serves grades kindergarten through eighth in West Philadelphia's 19121 zip code, a dense urban neighborhood. The enrollment is small and entirely draws from families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller groups of Hispanic, multiracial, American Indian/Alaska Native, and white students; the school reports no Asian or Pacific Islander enrollment.
The school's academic performance is considerably weak across tested subjects. In math for grades three through eight, proficiency stood at a very low level, with only a handful of students meeting the state's proficiency standard out of several hundred tested. English language arts fared slightly better but remained well below state norms, with about a one-in-eight proficiency rate. Science proficiency, measured most recently in a prior year, was also low. These results place the school squarely at the lower end of academic performance.
The district context matters here. Philadelphia City School District has undertaken substantial curriculum changes in recent years, adopting a structured mathematics program (Illustrative Mathematics) and a science-of-reading approach to literacy instruction starting in the 2024-25 school year. The district spent significant resources on these adoptions and, publicly reported, saw a one-point dip in reading scores in the first year of implementation. The overall effect on schools like Dick William, which serve economically disadvantaged student populations, is not yet clear from the data, though the shift to standardized, evidence-based instruction across all district schools is meant to raise floors.
The city property tax and school funding landscape has shifted in favor of schools. Philadelphia raised the school district's share of property tax revenue and completed a major property reassessment that will add resources to the school budget over the next several years. The district also approved a large-scale facilities modernization plan in early 2026, which includes building closures and consolidations; the school data does not indicate Dick William in that closure list, so its building status remains open.
Housing in the 19121 zip code is affordable by Philadelphia and national standards, with median home values well below the state and national benchmarks. Rent is similarly modest. This neighborhood demographic and the school's free-lunch-eligible student body reflect an economically stretched community.
Dick William serves a genuine need—it is the neighborhood school for West Philadelphia families—and operates under district-wide curriculum reforms aimed at standardizing and strengthening instruction. The profound gap between current proficiency and state standards is the central fact a parent or guardian would weigh. The school's small size means individualized attention may be possible, but the depth of academic challenge evident in test results suggests a parent may want to explore what targeted support, tutoring, or curriculum acceleration the school is currently providing to address the proficiency gap.
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