Schools Report Progress
By Dena Pauling, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.
Aug. 30–While all school districts in Centre County made overall academic progress in 2007, an annual state achievement report released Wednesday shows some gains and losses for individual schools.
For the first time in four years, State College Area High School was issued a warning for its Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores for a particular group of students.
Penns Valley, Bald Eagle and Bellefonte area high schools, all of which had received warnings last year, made progress.
Only one school district in the county — Philipsburg-Osceola — has had adequate test scores in all of its schools since the passing of the federal No Child Left Behind Act five years ago.
“We just keep working at it. That’s all I can tell you,” Philipsburg-Osceola Area Superintendent Charles Young said. “It’s something we are conscious of and we look at the data and we see where we need to do some work. It really is an effort by everybody in everything to get us there.”
Statewide, more students met state standards this year, but fewer schools made Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP.
At a news conference Wednesday, Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said 77 percent of schools made the mark — down from 82 percent last year. He attributed the decline to the addition of PSSA testing in fourth, sixth and seventh grades. Adding those students means that more subgroups — economically disadvantaged, special education and limited-English, for example — had to make the grade, too.
For school districts here, the warnings that have been issued are because of the scores of particular subgroups and not the overall student population.
“We are able to actually go in and look at these data and determine, even item by item, where students performed well or had difficulty,” State College Area Superintendent Patricia Best said. “That helps us to identify where students are struggling and gives us an opportunity to review different approaches.”
Brian Griffith, Penns Valley Area’s assistant superintendent, said he couldn’t identify exactly one reason why the high school improved from last year. The district changed “so many things” as a result of being in the school improvement category, he said, and will continue on that path to help students perform this coming year.
“We are very excited about the scores,” he said. “The faculty, administration, staff — everyone is working together to do the best we can.”
A subgroup at the Penns Valley Area High School did not make progress for two straight years. Although the school made gains this year, the school must make progress again next year, or else it will be deemed as “school improvement II.” If it still doesn’t improve, the state could issue penalties, such as a state takeover or giving parents an option to send their children elsewhere.
Among changes Penns Valley administrators have made to improve scores: allowing teachers to pair up for one class; making students take a series of practice tests; adding PSSA prep classes and more research-based programs; and encouraging teachers to talk one-on-one with students about their test scores.
“Most all of our scores in most every single grade have improved,” Griffith said. “And almost every single subgroup has improved. Our math scores are outstanding. Reading is very good.”
Bellefonte Area also set goals after it was put on the warning list last year. Tutoring, remediation and working with students one-on-one and in groups on the same concepts have all been part of the shift.
Superintendent J. Tom Masullo Jr. said the district will continue to analyze student data and provide the instruction they need to be successful.
“With raising the percentages in math and reading next year, although that may pose some problems statewide, I have every confidence that our students will be successful as they master the standards to become proficient in both math and reading,” he said.
For some districts, making the grade is a reason to celebrate.
Bald Eagle Area Superintendent Dan Fisher said administrators sent out a districtwide email and shared some laughter Wednesday when they found out all schools met AYP this year.
“In fact, we had an AYP song,” said Fisher, noting that it was to the tune of “YMCA.”"We sang it this morning.”
No Child Left Behind Act requires that all students nationwide are proficient by 2014. It is up for reauthorization this year. Graduation and test participation rates also are measured to determine whether a school district has made progress.
Dena Pauling can be reached at 231-4619.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.
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