The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in Science. The lowest is 39% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Pittsburgh Phillips K-5
Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 is a small neighborhood elementary school in Pittsburgh serving kindergarten through fifth grade. All of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment reflects the demographic makeup of its immediate area: roughly equal shares of students who are Black and white, with meaningful representation of multiracial students and smaller numbers of Hispanic and Asian students. The school sits in a zip code where housing costs have declined slightly year over year, though the local market is moderately active.
In state testing, Phillips shows mixed performance. In the most recent data available, about two in five third through fifth graders met proficiency in math and English language arts. Science results are notably stronger, with roughly seven in ten students proficient. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint when compared with other schools in Allegheny County.
These academic results warrant a parent's closer attention. Reading and math are foundational skills, and the gap between proficiency here and elsewhere in the county is real. At the same time, the strong science performance and the district's recent adoption of a new science-of-reading curriculum across kindergarten through fifth grade offer some context: Phillips is part of a districtwide pedagogical shift in how early literacy is taught, and the full effects of that change are still unfolding in third-grade outcomes.
Parents considering Phillips should be aware of the broader district environment. Pittsburgh Public Schools has faced sustained enrollment decline and approved a sweeping facility and program restructuring in May 2026, closing nine buildings by 2027 and reconfiguring grade models and feeder patterns citywide. Elementary magnet programs are being phased out. This means that the experience families have at Phillips, and their children's pathway to middle school, will be shaped by ongoing districtwide change. The district also approved a property tax increase in December 2025, a direct cost for any family living in Pittsburgh. Additionally, the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program, which historically helped many PPS graduates pay for college, will sunset after the Class of 2028.
Phillips itself is not among the schools closing, and it will remain a neighborhood school. The school operates under the regular public school model and is led by Pittsburgh Public Schools. The demographic composition and economic circumstances of its student body reflect long-standing neighborhood patterns. What Phillips offers is proximity to neighborhood life in Pittsburgh, a school sized for early-elementary instruction, and participation in a district-level literacy initiative. For families prioritizing strong foundational reading and math instruction and weighing it against the broader institutional uncertainty in the district, Phillips is worth careful conversation with the school itself about its current literacy work and its path forward.
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