The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Science. The lowest is 19% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Isaac Tripp El Sch
Isaac Tripp Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Scranton, a mid-sized city in northeastern Pennsylvania that was historically the heart of anthracite coal mining and now centers its economy on health care, higher education, government, and logistics. The school sits in a city with a compact, historically significant downtown, dense residential neighborhoods, and public transit anchored by the Lackawanna Transit Center. Scranton's recent growth has come largely through adaptive reuse of downtown buildings into apartments rather than new suburban construction, part of a slower-growth pattern shaped by the city's economic transition.
The school serves roughly 670 students, nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is diverse: roughly half Hispanic, a quarter white, and smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. Data on students receiving special education services or learning English as an additional language was not available.
On Pennsylvania's System of School Assessment, Isaac Tripp's results on the 2024-25 math test show that roughly a quarter of third and fourth graders who were tested met the state's proficiency standard. On English language arts, the proportion was much lower, closer to one in five. Science proficiency, measured in 2022-23, was notably higher, with roughly half the students tested reaching proficiency. The school's overall proficiency rate places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Lackawanna County, a positioning that reflects the challenge Scranton as a district has faced and the concentration of economic need in its elementary schools.
This matters in context. Scranton School District exited state financial recovery in January 2023 after spending years under that designation, the second district in Pennsylvania history to do so. The recovery period involved tax increases, school closures and reconfiguration including moving fifth graders out of elementary schools, and significant service cuts. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, a substantial increase in state funding tied to Pennsylvania's adequacy remedy allowed the district to restore pre-K, expand kindergarten support, and bring back middle school arts and electives. In July 2025, the district paused planned closures of neighborhood elementary schools, citing a rapid rise in special education enrollment—a shift that means the school's building will remain open and serve the community, though classroom space is being redirected toward special education and preschool needs.
For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a neighborhood elementary in a economically pressured district that is now beginning to stabilize and invest again after years of contraction. The student body is predominantly low-income and Latino. Academic proficiency is below the county benchmark, particularly in reading and writing, though science shows more strength. The school is not a destination program; it serves its geographic catchment. The district itself is now adding counselors, social workers, and restored electives, which will reach this school over time.
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