The top reported proficiency rate is 91% in English language arts. The lowest is 84% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Masterman Julia R Sec Sch
Masterman Julia R Secondary School serves grades five through twelve in Philadelphia as a regular public school. It sits in a densely walkable, historic urban setting in Center City, with the address placed in a mixed-use corridor north of downtown where the School District of Philadelphia has long housed selective and advanced programs.
The school population is nearly twelve hundred students. All students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects either income-based eligibility or the district's provision of free meals to all. The student body is ethnically diverse: just under a third are Asian, approximately two-fifths are white, roughly a sixth are Black, and the remainder identify as Hispanic, multiracial, or other. Specific enrollment data for students with disabilities or English learners was not available.
The school's academic performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment is notably strong. In English language arts, about nine in ten students in the tested grades scored at proficiency. In math, about five in six did so. These results represent substantially high performance on the state assessment for the school's grade bands; no multi-year trend data was accessible, so it is not possible to characterize whether these results reflect growth, stability, or change. The school does not serve grades thirteen through fourteen, so no graduation rate exists for this entity.
Masterman draws from Philadelphia's economy and cultural life. The city is anchored by healthcare, higher education, financial services, and life sciences. Major employers headquartered or operating locally include the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine, Comcast, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Independence Blue Cross, and GSK. Philadelphia's 54-branch library system and extensive park network, including Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River, are publicly available civic amenities. The city is recognized as one of the most walkable in the United States and has been growing modestly for two consecutive years after pandemic-era population losses, with concentrated growth in Center City. The housing market in the school's zip code is moderately valued, with median home values above national benchmarks but below the state average.
The district itself recently committed substantial funding to curriculum overhaul, introducing a new science-of-reading English language arts curriculum starting in 2024-25 and Illustrative Mathematics for all grades beginning in 2023-24. These changes standardized instruction citywide for the first time in years and directly shape the day-to-day classroom experience. Reading scores declined slightly in the first year of the new ELA materials.
The Philadelphia Board of Education approved a substantial facilities master plan in April 2026 that will close seventeen schools beginning in 2026-27, co-locate six, and modernize others. This plan will reshape school catchments and building assignments across the city over the coming decade.
The school's combination of strong performance on state assessment, diverse peer group, urban walkable location, and selective program status positions it as an academic pathway for students meeting admission criteria. A parent may wish to confirm current admission requirements and any program application process directly with the school, as this information was not included in the available data.
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