State gives four local districts warnings because of 2012 PSSA results
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Posted: Saturday, September 22, 2012 7:15 am | Updated: 7:21 am, Sat Sep 22, 2012.
Posted on September 22, 2012
Four of the eight school districts in Lower Bucks County have earned Adequate Yearly Progress based on student achievement on Pennsylvania’s 2012 standardized tests, according to the state’s education department.Among high schools, only Morrisville and Neshaminy earned AYP status in test figures released Friday morning on the department’s website.For districts as a whole, Council Rock, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury achieved AYP status.
The Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township and Centennial school districts received warnings from the state because not enough students demonstrated on the tests that they are learning at grade level, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education website.
In addition, several schools within all eight districts had some deficiencies, according to the 2012 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test results.
Eight of the 10 Lower Bucks public high schools including Bucks County Technical High School had deficiencies.
The state administers the standardized mathematics and reading tests in the spring of each year to public school students in third through eighth grades and 11th grade.
The scores demonstrate if students are learning at grade level and whether schools and districts qualify for AYP status, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Students can score in one of four levels on each of the tests: Advanced, proficient, basic or below basic.
This year, Pennsylvania called for 78 percent of students in districts and schools to score proficient or advanced on the math test and 81 percent to demonstrate proficiency in reading.
Proficiency goals for the two tests will continue to increase until 2014 when both reach 100 percent, as called for by the federal act.
The proficiency rates are calculated by adding together the percentage of students who score in the advanced and proficient ranges.
A school district earns AYP status when at least one of its three grade spans meets participation and performance targets, education officials said.
The elementary span covers students in third- through fifth-grade, the middle level span is for students in sixth- through eighth-grade and the high school span covers ninth- through 12th-grade students.
Locally most deficiencies relate to different subgroups tracked by the state, including economically disadvantaged students and special education students. A subgroup score is factored into the AYP consideration when at least 40 students in the school are included in a particular subgroup.
BENSALEM
Bensalem High School landed in Corrective Action II 5th year status because not enough students overall, white and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the math and reading tests, not enough black students tested at grade level on the math test and not enough special education students achieved proficiency on the reading test.
Robert K. Middle School received a warning because not enough Latino and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in math and not enough special education students were learning at grade level in math and reading.
Cecelia Snyder Middle School received a warning because not enough black, Latino and economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in math.
Cornwells Elementary School got the designation because not enough special education students were proficient in math and reading;
Samuel K. Faust Elementary School was served notice because not enough black and special education students were proficient in math and reading and not enough Latino students demonstrated they were learning at grade level on the reading test;
Benjamin Rush Elementary got the warning because not enough black students were proficient in math and not enough Latino students demonstrated proficiency in reading;
Russell C. Struble Elementary School received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in math.
BRISTOL
Bristol High School received a warning because not enough students were proficient in reading.
Bristol’s middle level program received a warning because not enough students overall, as well as Latino and special education students achieved proficiency in math. In addition, not enough black and economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in reading and math.
Warren Snyder-John Girotti Elementary School landed in School Improvement II because not enough students overall as well as black and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated they were learning at grade level on the math and reading tests. In addition, not enough white students were proficient in reading and not enough special education students demonstrated proficiency in math.
BRISTOL TOWNSHIP
Harry S. Truman High School received a warning because not enough students overall, white, special education and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the reading and math tests and not enough black students tested at grade level on the reading test.
Lafayette Elementary School landed in School Improvement I because not enough black and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in math and reading, not enough students overall as well as white students were proficient in reading and not enough Latino and special education students were proficient in math;
John Fitch Elementary School received a warning because not enough students overall were proficient in reading and not enough economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in math and reading;
Abraham Lincoln Elementary School was put on notice because not enough black students were proficient in reading and math and not enough students overall and economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in reading.
George Washington Elementary School received a warning because not enough economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in reading.
BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
The comprehensive technical school received a Corrective Action II First Year status because not enough students overall and white students demonstrated they were learning at grade level on the math test and not enough special education students were proficient on the math and reading tests. BCTHS serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.
CENTENNIAL
William Tennent High School landed in the Corrective Action II 4th year status because not enough students overall, as well as white and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the math and reading tests.
Klinger and Log College middle schools received a warning, as did Fred J. Stackpole Elementary School, because not enough special education students were proficient in math.
Willow Dale Elementary School also received a warning because not enough Latino and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in reading and not enough special education students demonstrated they were learning at grade level in math and reading.
COUNCIL ROCK
Council Rock High School North received a warning because it missed the required graduation threshold. Council Rock High School South landed in School Improvement I status because not enough students overall and white students did not demonstrate proficiency in math and not enough special education and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in reading.
Richboro Middle School received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in reading.
MORRISVILLE
Morrisville's intermediate school received a warning because not enough of its special education students demonstrated proficiency on the reading test.
NESHAMINY
Maple Point Middle School received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in reading.
Albert Schweitzer Elementary School received a warning because not enough economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the reading test.
PENNSBURY
Pennsbury High School landed in Corrective Action II fourth year status because not enough students overall, white, black and economically disadvantaged students were proficient in math.
Makefield and Village Park elementary schools each received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in reading.
Manor Elementary School got a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in math and reading.
Oxford Valley Elementary School was put on notice because not enough special education and economically disadvantaged students were proficient in reading.
However, some local schools showed signs of progress, according to local education officials.
For instance, Neshaminy High School received a “Making Progress” designation because of its 11th graders demonstrated proficiency on the tests. It was a feat that was seven years in the making, according to school officials.
Across the state, scores on the 2012 PSSA tests “declined slightly” from 2010-11, the education secretary said Friday in a statement posted on the department’s website.
Ron Tomalis, Pennsylvania’s secretary of education, said there are two main reasons for the overall decline.
Tomalis credited a 2011 statewide investigation of alleged discrepancies on past PSSA answer sheets and the implementation of increased testing security measures for the 1.4 percent drop on the math tests and the 1.6 percent drop on the reading exams.
Overall statewide, 75.7 percent of students scored either proficient or advanced in math and 71.9 percent of students demonstrated they were learning at or above grade level on the reading tests.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association on Friday took exception with Tomalis’ reasoning for the decline.
“Focusing on an investigation in a small number of classrooms in a small number of schools instead of acknowledging the impact of nearly $1 billion in funding cuts to ‘all’ schools is a disservice to students, teachers, parents and taxpayers,” said Michael Crossey, the PSEA president, in a statement released by the state teachers' unions.
PSBA officials agreed, saying alleged cheating incidents that took place in about 1 percent of classrooms statewide are not the main reason for the decline in AYP rates.
“Blaming the drop in the number of schools making AYP to these few cases does a discredit to the vast majority of schools that are working very hard while facing a number of challenges, and ignores other factors that would lead to a decline in test scores,” PSBA Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel said in a statement released Friday by the trade group.
The Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township and Centennial school districts received warnings from the state because not enough students demonstrated on the tests that they are learning at grade level, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education website.
In addition, several schools within all eight districts had some deficiencies, according to the 2012 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test results.
Eight of the 10 Lower Bucks public high schools including Bucks County Technical High School had deficiencies.
The state administers the standardized mathematics and reading tests in the spring of each year to public school students in third through eighth grades and 11th grade.
The scores demonstrate if students are learning at grade level and whether schools and districts qualify for AYP status, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Students can score in one of four levels on each of the tests: Advanced, proficient, basic or below basic.
This year, Pennsylvania called for 78 percent of students in districts and schools to score proficient or advanced on the math test and 81 percent to demonstrate proficiency in reading.
Proficiency goals for the two tests will continue to increase until 2014 when both reach 100 percent, as called for by the federal act.
The proficiency rates are calculated by adding together the percentage of students who score in the advanced and proficient ranges.
A school district earns AYP status when at least one of its three grade spans meets participation and performance targets, education officials said.
The elementary span covers students in third- through fifth-grade, the middle level span is for students in sixth- through eighth-grade and the high school span covers ninth- through 12th-grade students.
Locally most deficiencies relate to different subgroups tracked by the state, including economically disadvantaged students and special education students. A subgroup score is factored into the AYP consideration when at least 40 students in the school are included in a particular subgroup.
BENSALEM
Bensalem High School landed in Corrective Action II 5th year status because not enough students overall, white and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the math and reading tests, not enough black students tested at grade level on the math test and not enough special education students achieved proficiency on the reading test.
Robert K. Middle School received a warning because not enough Latino and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in math and not enough special education students were learning at grade level in math and reading.
Cecelia Snyder Middle School received a warning because not enough black, Latino and economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in math.
Cornwells Elementary School got the designation because not enough special education students were proficient in math and reading;
Samuel K. Faust Elementary School was served notice because not enough black and special education students were proficient in math and reading and not enough Latino students demonstrated they were learning at grade level on the reading test;
Benjamin Rush Elementary got the warning because not enough black students were proficient in math and not enough Latino students demonstrated proficiency in reading;
Russell C. Struble Elementary School received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in math.
BRISTOL
Bristol High School received a warning because not enough students were proficient in reading.
Bristol’s middle level program received a warning because not enough students overall, as well as Latino and special education students achieved proficiency in math. In addition, not enough black and economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in reading and math.
Warren Snyder-John Girotti Elementary School landed in School Improvement II because not enough students overall as well as black and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated they were learning at grade level on the math and reading tests. In addition, not enough white students were proficient in reading and not enough special education students demonstrated proficiency in math.
BRISTOL TOWNSHIP
Harry S. Truman High School received a warning because not enough students overall, white, special education and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the reading and math tests and not enough black students tested at grade level on the reading test.
Lafayette Elementary School landed in School Improvement I because not enough black and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in math and reading, not enough students overall as well as white students were proficient in reading and not enough Latino and special education students were proficient in math;
John Fitch Elementary School received a warning because not enough students overall were proficient in reading and not enough economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in math and reading;
Abraham Lincoln Elementary School was put on notice because not enough black students were proficient in reading and math and not enough students overall and economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency in reading.
George Washington Elementary School received a warning because not enough economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in reading.
BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
The comprehensive technical school received a Corrective Action II First Year status because not enough students overall and white students demonstrated they were learning at grade level on the math test and not enough special education students were proficient on the math and reading tests. BCTHS serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.
CENTENNIAL
William Tennent High School landed in the Corrective Action II 4th year status because not enough students overall, as well as white and economically disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the math and reading tests.
Klinger and Log College middle schools received a warning, as did Fred J. Stackpole Elementary School, because not enough special education students were proficient in math.
Willow Dale Elementary School also received a warning because not enough Latino and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in reading and not enough special education students demonstrated they were learning at grade level in math and reading.
COUNCIL ROCK
Council Rock High School North received a warning because it missed the required graduation threshold. Council Rock High School South landed in School Improvement I status because not enough students overall and white students did not demonstrate proficiency in math and not enough special education and economically-disadvantaged students were proficient in reading.
Richboro Middle School received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in reading.
MORRISVILLE
Morrisville's intermediate school received a warning because not enough of its special education students demonstrated proficiency on the reading test.
NESHAMINY
Maple Point Middle School received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in reading.
Albert Schweitzer Elementary School received a warning because not enough economically-disadvantaged students demonstrated proficiency on the reading test.
PENNSBURY
Pennsbury High School landed in Corrective Action II fourth year status because not enough students overall, white, black and economically disadvantaged students were proficient in math.
Makefield and Village Park elementary schools each received a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in reading.
Manor Elementary School got a warning because not enough special education students were proficient in math and reading.
Oxford Valley Elementary School was put on notice because not enough special education and economically disadvantaged students were proficient in reading.
However, some local schools showed signs of progress, according to local education officials.
For instance, Neshaminy High School received a “Making Progress” designation because of its 11th graders demonstrated proficiency on the tests. It was a feat that was seven years in the making, according to school officials.
Across the state, scores on the 2012 PSSA tests “declined slightly” from 2010-11, the education secretary said Friday in a statement posted on the department’s website.
Ron Tomalis, Pennsylvania’s secretary of education, said there are two main reasons for the overall decline.
Tomalis credited a 2011 statewide investigation of alleged discrepancies on past PSSA answer sheets and the implementation of increased testing security measures for the 1.4 percent drop on the math tests and the 1.6 percent drop on the reading exams.
Overall statewide, 75.7 percent of students scored either proficient or advanced in math and 71.9 percent of students demonstrated they were learning at or above grade level on the reading tests.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association on Friday took exception with Tomalis’ reasoning for the decline.
“Focusing on an investigation in a small number of classrooms in a small number of schools instead of acknowledging the impact of nearly $1 billion in funding cuts to ‘all’ schools is a disservice to students, teachers, parents and taxpayers,” said Michael Crossey, the PSEA president, in a statement released by the state teachers' unions.
PSBA officials agreed, saying alleged cheating incidents that took place in about 1 percent of classrooms statewide are not the main reason for the decline in AYP rates.
“Blaming the drop in the number of schools making AYP to these few cases does a discredit to the vast majority of schools that are working very hard while facing a number of challenges, and ignores other factors that would lead to a decline in test scores,” PSBA Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel said in a statement released Friday by the trade group.
23 comments:
Good work Morrisville. Guess the teachers are doing something right. Let's see what happens this year with all the non cuts and massive class sizes and less teachers.
From today's Phila. Inquirer:
Pennsylvania's school test scores drop for the first time since 2002
By Dan Hardy, Dylan Purcell, and Kristen A. Graham
Inquirer Staff Writers
The percentage of Pennsylvania students meeting state math and reading standards on the PSSAs - the annual academic accountability test - declined this year for the first time since the tests began in 2002.
Education Secretary Ron Tomalis on Friday attributed the drop to tight security procedures enforced during the spring testing, especially in 110 schools across the state still under investigation for possible cheating from 2009 to 2011.
This is the first year, Tomalis said, that the public can be confident that, overall, test scores are not tainted by adult interference. "We have hit the reset button on student performance," and the 2012 scores provide a new baseline, he said.
Well over 100 educators will eventually face state disciplinary charges for cheating that could lead to the revocation of their professional certificates, Tomalis said. But that could take years, and the results of state disciplinary board hearings in Harrisburg would be disclosed only if educators were disciplined.
In Philadelphia, 53 district-run schools and three charter schools are still under investigation for allegations of cheating in past years.
Of those 53, all but two experienced declines in both subjects from the previous year. The Philadelphia Military Academy at Elverson had a 71 percent decline in math scores from 2011 to 2012, the biggest drop of any city school. The two other schools had a decline in either math or reading.
Statewide, the 110 schools that had been under investigation this year for cheating averaged a double-digit drop in math and reading scores. With those schools taken out of the mix, math and reading scores for students statewide would have declined about 0.5 percent. With the investigated schools included, they were down about 1.5 percent.
Last year, 77.1 percent of the state's students scored at or above grade level on the math test; this year, 75.7 percent met the mark. In reading, student scores declined from 73.5 percent at grade level to 71.9 percent. Tomalis called those percentages "unacceptable for Pennsylvania," adding that everyone needs "to redouble our efforts."
In Philadelphia this year, 50 percent of students districtwide performed at grade level in math, 45 percent in reading. That is down from 59 percent in math and 52 percent in reading last year.
"These results are clearly disappointing, and they simply remind us of the work we have ahead in developing a strong system of schools in Philadelphia and in supporting our students' learning," School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said.
The news was not all bad. The High School of the Future was one of the most improved schools in the district. It rose 27.2 percentage points in reading and 22.8 percentage points in math.
"I took a double take," said longtime district principal Rosalind Chivis, who has been at the helm of the 425-student school since 2008. "I knew we would improve, but it blew me away when I saw the data. I was so very proud of the learners. They worked really, really hard, and a big part of it is motivating them to do well, to take the test seriously and do well."
Along with the decline in test scores, the number of schools statewide meeting achievement benchmarks declined sharply from last year, in large part because Pennsylvania's No Child Left Behind school accountability standards went up a sizable amount from 2011.
The state thresholds went up from 67 percent of students required to make the mark in 2011 to 78 percent this year. In reading, the benchmark went from 72 percent to 81 percent.
This year, 51 percent of schools statewide met state academic benchmarks by having the required percentage of students scoring at grade level or above. That was down from 75 percent in 2011.
The rest:
In Philadelphia, only 33 - 13 percent - of the district's 250 schools met state standards, down from 41 percent in 2011.
Among city charter schools, 54 percent met the benchmarks, down from 63 percent in 2011. In Philadelphia's suburbs, 65 percent of schools made the mark, down from 81 percent.
Statewide, in addition to Philadelphia, five districts and three charter schools remain under investigation for cheating from 2009 to 2011, Tomalis said. They are the Harrisburg, Hazleton Area, Pittsburgh, Reading, and Scranton districts and the Imhotep Institute, Philadelphia Electrical and Technical, and Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partnership charter schools.
An additional five districts and one charter school that were under investigation this year will continue to be monitored and will have strict new test security measures. Though no one was identified as having cheated, there was no satisfactory explanation of the irregularities at those schools, Tomalis said.
Some educators and education advocates blamed the drop in student performance on reduced funding for schools.
"It defies logic that they could expect student performance to improve after cutting nearly $1 billion" in funding in 2010-11, said Wythe Keever, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.
Keever said cheating "is wrong. . . . Those individuals should be held accountable." But he said Tomalis was using cheating revelations to "shift attention away from the real issue: adequately funding public education."
Tomalis said the state's Technical Advisory Committee found heightened test security the only factor in the drop. "I don't buy the excuse the numbers went down because of budget cuts," he said.
Union leaders were quick to criticize state officials for tying cheating to the statewide drop in test scores.
"Any cheating on tests is deplorable, but to use an incomplete investigation involving a handful of schools and educators statewide to discredit our public schools and the educators who have dedicated their careers to helping all children reach their full potential is nothing short of a political cheap shot," Ted Kirsch, president of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, agreed. Cheating may have occurred, he said, but its impact is negligible.
"When resources are pulled from our schools, scores drop," Jordan said.
By 2014, according to the federal No Child Left Behind law under which the state tests are mandated, 100 percent of students should be scoring proficient or advanced. Virtually all educators see that as unrealistic.
Last year, the Obama administration started allowing states to scrap the 2014 deadline if they would agree to adopt new rules that focus on the bottom 15 percent of schools, and make other changes.
Thirty-two states, including New Jersey, and the District of Columbia have been granted the waivers.
Tomalis on Friday called it likely that Congress will pass a new version of No Child Left Behind in the next year or two and that the state did not want to keep changing accountability plans. He instead asked for federal permission to freeze test benchmarks for schools at 2012 levels, but was turned down.
Pennsylvania's academic thresholds are set to increase to 89 percent in math and 91 percent in reading next year.
Morrisville Matters - Test Scores Up, Taxes Flat!
SOC world, see what a jerk-wad thing that is to say?
"Good work Morrisville. Guess the teachers are doing something right. Let's see what happens this year with all the non cuts and massive class sizes and less teachers."
Prior PSSA tainted by cheating. Keystone exams replace PSSA next year in H.S. Clean Slate. Etch-a-Sketch.
You are accusing the Morrisville School District teachers and administration of cheating? Pretty bold. Have proof?
"Good work Morrisville. Guess the teachers are doing something right. Let's see what happens this year with all the non cuts and massive class sizes and less teachers."
I have to say, I was a little surprised when I went to the back-to-school night on Thursday and found out that my kid's class size was 27 (and without a teacher's aide), an increase of approx 30% from 6 years ago. I am not sure if this is a result of cuts, of shoehorning that many kids into the I/M/HS (lack or rooms), or maybe a little of both.
"Keystone exams replace PSSA next year in H.S."
Seems to me that this is the same sheep, different clothing. Seriously, how greatly will one standardized test be from the next?
Nice job on the PSSA, bulldogs! Keep moving forward.
Same state, different loophole...If Keystone's come into play this (next) year, we will have grace periods much like those we received when we renamed (blew up our own boiler) our schools and reorganized (drove a truck into our own building) class locations and were able to create new labels.
It's awful that people think teachers don't work hard. I was at back to school night both nights and honestly feel bad for both my kid's teachers. Almost 30 students in one classroom in our district where we used to pride ourselves in small community atmosphere. It's why I moved here.
I know for a fact that there are people in the building that basically force themselves to smile these days. Morrisville Matters or Stay on Course, at this point it doesn't matter. Teachers have shown they are really good. It's only a matter of time before they leave too.
From today's BCCT:
State drops PSSA tests for high school juniors; Keystone exams to replace them
Posted on September 23, 2012
by Joan Hellyer
The state has abruptly dropped its Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests to determine if high school juniors are learning at grade level, education officials announced.
The state education department notified districts during the summer that it will instead use the Keystone Exams in algebra, biology and literature to test students’ learning skills.
The notification came after districts across the state had planned their 2012-2013 calendar based on the state’s PSSA testing schedule for students in third through eighth grades and 11th grade, officials said.
“The timing of the release of this is the most concerning as we must now quickly try to plan for implementation,” Council Rock Assistant Superintendent Barry Desko said on Thursday. “As an example, we have already been required to submit information to the state for the first round of testing this winter.”
The Keystone Exam schedule will also conflict with the predetermined schedule for Advanced Placement testing in the spring, Desko said.
For at least the first year, all high school juniors will take the three tests to determine Adequate Yearly Progress status, said Timothy Eller, an education department spokesman.
The exams will be administered irrespective of when the students took the course, he said.
This is forcing schools to do a lot of rearranging of their schedules to make sure various events do not conflict with the Keystone exams and students have time to get ready for the tests, local educators said.
“Students that have already completed a course but must still take an exam will be given review opportunities to support them in preparation for their testing,” Desko said.
Centennial plans to provide similar review sessions, said Joyce Mundy, the district’s assistant superintendent for Education K-12.
“(However) this will take time away from their current math or science course,” she said.
High school juniors will not be the only students who take the Keystone tests in 2012-2013, Eller said. Younger students will take the exam while they are taking the respective course, he said.
The testing could range from eighth-grade through 10th-grade depending on when students take either the specified math, science or English class.
If the younger student scores in the proficient or advanced range on the Keystone exam the grade “will be banked” and folded into AYP consideration once the student’s class gets to 11th grade, Eller said.
Students who score in the basic or below basic range will have additional opportunities to take the exam before they graduate, he said. The state will continue to use the PSSA tests to monitor learning levels for students in third- through eighth-grade, the spokesman said.
Pa. test score decline attributed to less cheating
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PA Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis
Posted: Friday, September 21, 2012 11:45 am | Updated: 12:41 pm, Fri Sep 21, 2012.
Associated Press | 0 comments
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's students scored slightly lower on their 2011-12 achievement tests because of a state crackdown on alleged cheating in some districts.
State Education Secretary Ron Tomalis said Friday that his department plans to file complaints against more than 100 educators for tampering with student test sheets in an attempt to boost scores. Investigations remain active in nine of the state's 500 school districts.
Because of enhanced security measures implemented this year, Tomalis says the percentage of students whose scores were proficient or advanced dropped by more than 1 percentage point statewide in math and reading.
The secretary says the proportion of students performing at or above their grade levels was nearly 76 percent in math, 72 percent in reading, 73 percent in writing and barely 61 percent in science.
2012 PSSA resultsEducators: Bar gets higher for districts in 2012 PSSA test results
By From staff reports | 0 comments
Posted on September 23, 2012
Local educators weigh in on the 2012 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and their local students and schools efforts to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress status.
Morrisville
Morrisville School District officials weren’t available for comment about the 2012 PSSA results on Thursday or Friday.
I noticed that. Mville was the only district not to comment.Why? There was good news to tell.
No comment because the teachers don't have a contract yet
whatsa matter the phones don't dial out?
Seriously? The little guy comes out on top and no administrator (politician) can find a microphone or camera? What's the catch?
Because Keystone tests and PSSA tests are not really able to be compared and evaluated, there's no benchmark for progress that can be made for 3-5 years minimum from the rollout.
Problem solved! All the failures under PSSA are "old" and we're working on the "new". No bad news for anyone and we can all celebrate.
That's what I was thinking.
But apart from that - students, teachers, support staff, parents, etc. keep working hard and moving ahead and we'll all have reason to celebrate.
Put rigid ideology and lies on the scrap heap and let the thoughtful, reasonable adults in the room set the tone and we'll have even more reason to celebrate!!! It's already happening to a certain degree. It needs to continue.
from what I see I voted in a group of people who are challenging the people in charge everyday annoying them because they are not taking their word for how things are going like the old board did im glad they are representing me and i know after only 9 months in those seats and cleaing up mess after mess this is their first full year to start digging deep and from what I see on the videos whatch out because there are some toughies upthere demanding answeres and better ways of doing things and not settling for the BS that they get fed, watch the videos you will see the bs coming out of those in charge for the day to day and those over them saying nope, not good enough, how can we do this better and I wnat to see proof because I hear otherwise. i like what i see of those challenging those in charge and i support their process i may even try to get to a live meeting to see it first hand because its interewsting at that
GREAT POST - LOVE IT - 100% AGREE!
Editorial in today's Phila. Inquirer:
Posted: Tue, Sep. 25, 2012, 3:01 AM
Inquirer Editorial: Cheating only part of problem
State education officials' reaction to the first drop in test scores since Pennsylvania students began taking the standardized exams in 2002 conjures images from The Wizard of Oz.
Remember when the lovable charlatan who was pretending to be a wizard begged Dorothy and her determined crew of misfits - Toto, too - to pay no attention to him and instead focus their widening eyes on the noisy machinery he was manipulating.
Likewise, state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis wants the public to disregard the hundreds of millions of dollars in public-school funding that the Corbett administration has cut and instead attribute the lower scores to better policing of cheaters.
The state's tougher response to test cheating deserves a loud and long round of applause. But that laudable effort must be put in perspective. Tomalis says the state expects to eventually charge about 100 educators with cheating. Was catching those 100 out of Pennsylvania's nearly 150,000 teachers responsible for the statewide decline in scores?
Gov. Corbett and Tomalis need to leave Oz and accept the reality that there have been consequences to their spending cuts. Tutoring and other programs that the schools implemented to improve academic performance had to be discarded. Teachers and aides had to be laid off. Of course those cuts had some impact on student performance, though to what degree isn't really known.
Pennsylvania has never done right by its schools when it comes to funding. Nationally, state aid to schools amounts to about half of a district's budget. But Pennsylvania school districts get only about 36 percent of their funding from the state, which means they depend a lot more on local taxes to operate. That's fine in affluent districts, but pity the students in towns with poor tax bases.
Already underfunded by the state, Pennsylvania schools were slapped by the recession, but didn't realize how hard they had been hit until later. Both Gov. Ed Rendell and Corbett cut state education funding and made up the gap with federal stimulus money. School districts naively expected the state to restore its funding levels when the stimulus money ran out. They're still waiting.
Academics are suffering, as evidenced by the declining test scores. About a fourth of Pennsylvania students didn't perform at grade level in math and reading. The number at grade level in math (75.7 percent) fell 1.4 percent; while the number in reading (73.5 percent) fell 1.6 percent. The declines were worse in Philadelphia - a 9 percent drop in math, to 50 percent; and a 7 percent dip in reading, to 45 percent.
Of particular concern is Chester Community Charter School in Delaware County, the state's largest charter, where scores fell about 30 percent in math and reading. There, the state's new testing security measures could account for the dramatic difference in scores. In any case, the results provide another cautionary lesson about charters. They can be viable alternatives to regular public schools, but only if closely monitored to ensure academic and fiscal proficiency.
PSSA adviser: Cheating probe impact overstated
Posted: Friday, September 28, 2012 5:00 am
Associated Press | 0 comments
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The head of the committee examining scores on Pennsylvania's achievement tests says state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis overstated the panel's conclusions about what's behind the drop in scores.
Pennsylvania Technical Advisory Committee chairwoman Marianne Perie says the analysis couldn't determine conclusively if an investigation to root out cheating led to lower scores. She also says the committee didn't ponder whether budget cuts played a role.
Tomalis last week attributed the lower scores to an investigation into cheating and said the committee found budget reductions had nothing to do with the drop.
A spokesman for the state education department says enhanced security measures led to lower scores at schools flagged in the cheating probe and those lower scores had a statewide impact.
Perie says the panel recommended the state look into whether the investigation adversely affected scores by making teachers hesitant to offer students any assistance at all, even if it's permitted under the testing rules.
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