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PA Governor Rendell Says Standard & Poor's Study Shows Pennsylvania Students Benefiting From Targeted Investments in Education

Posted on: Thursday, 29 June 2006, 12:00 CDT

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- An independent study by a renowned firm confirms that more than 160,000 students in 48 Pennsylvania schools are benefiting from investments in early childhood education, pre-k, full-day kindergarten and high school reform, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.

Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services says the students attending the schools, which are located in 42 districts in 25 counties, have made significant progress narrowing achievement gaps and improving proficiency rates compared to other states.

"Standard & Poor's recognition of what is happening in Pennsylvania is fantastic news and I congratulate these schools for their hard work and commitment to ensuring every child is provided a quality education," the Governor said. "We have worked hard to provide a first-class system of education by investing in quality, proven programs that support student achievement. Over the past three years, student test scores have increased in reading and math in all grades and among all groups of students.

"We are recognized as one of only seven states that have made simultaneous improvements in our elementary reading and math programs."

Pennsylvania's inroads in achievement and proficiency have benefited more students than any of the states recently studied by Standard & Poor's.

In order to be acknowledged, each of the 48 schools had to reduce the achievement gap between high- and low-performing student groups in either reading or math by more than five percent while concurrently raising the rate of proficiency for both groups. Only schools that have minimum group populations of 30 students were eligible.

Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) test results from 2002 through 2005 show that thousands more students have reached proficiency across all grade levels. In the past three years:

-- 8,126 more 5th graders are proficient in reading and 19,938 more are proficient in math; -- 14,507 more 8th graders are proficient in reading and 22,497 more are proficient in math; and -- 16,428 more 11th graders are proficient in reading and 8,692 more are proficient in math.

There's also been significant improvement within every student subgroup. For example, over the last three years within 5th grade math, 6,545 more African American students, 2,377 more Latino students, 4,699 more special education students and 13,856 more low-income students have reached proficiency.

Since his election, the Governor has invested millions of dollars in early childhood education, tutoring, high schools, accountability and higher education.

"The Governor's vision is clear: every student will achieve proficiency - no exceptions, no excuses," Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak said. "Governor Rendell has set the student achievement bar very high by demanding greater accountability from school leaders for results and providing $1.2 billion in new state support to help all students achieve."

"It is difficult to narrow achievement gaps," Thomas Sheridan, vice president of Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services said in a press release. "However, this analysis shows that there are a number of schools that have made outstanding progress. Their success should be commended, and their practices should be more closely examined to illustrate the strategies that can be implemented by educators in other parts of Pennsylvania who are working hard to raise the performance of all students."

For more information about Governor Rendell's education initiatives, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Web site at http://www.pde.state.pa.us/. Standard & Poor's full report can be read at http://www.schoolmatters.org/.

The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following schools were recognized by Standard & Poor's for reducing the achievement gap:

Allegheny County -- Bald Eagle Area Junior-Senior High School, Bald Eagle Area School District -- Highlands Middle School, Highlands School District -- McKeesport Area Senior High School, McKeesport Area School District -- Northgate Junior-Senior High School, Northgate School District -- Shenandoah Elementary School, Penn Hills School District -- Shaler Area High School, Shaler Area School District -- Whitehall Elementary School, Baldwin-Whitehall Area School District Bedford County -- Bedford Elementary School, Bedford Area School District Berks County -- Northeast Middle School, Reading School District Bradford County -- Audrielle Lynch Elementary School, Athens Area School District Bucks County -- Pennsbury High School, Pennsbury School District -- Strayer Middle School, Quakertown Community School District Carbon County -- L.B. Morris Elementary School, Jim Thorpe Area School District Chester County -- Kennett High School, Kennett Consolidated School District Columbia County -- Berwick Area High School, Berwick Area School District Crawford County -- Conneaut Lake-Sadsbury Elementary School, Conneaut School District Dauphin County -- Dauphin County Area Vocational Technical School Erie County -- Union City High School, Union City Area School District Greene County -- Waynesburg Central Elementary School, Central Greene School District Indiana County -- Blairsville Elementary School, Blairsville-Saltsburg School District Lackawanna County -- Mid Valley El Center, Mid Valley School District -- North Pocono High School, North Pocono School District Lancaster County -- Penn Manor High School, Penn Manor School District Lawrence County -- Mohawk Junior-Senior High School, Mohawk Area School District -- Washington Intermediate School, New Castle Area School District Mercer County -- Grove City Area Middle School, Grove City Area School District -- Hillview Elementary School, Grove City Area School District -- Delahunty Middle School, Hermitage School District Monroe County -- Bushkill Elementary School, East Stroudsburg Area School District -- East Stroudsburg Senior High School-North, East Stroudsburg Area School District -- Middle Smithfield Elementary School, East Stroudsburg Area School District -- Pleasant Valley Middle School, Pleasant Valley School District -- Pocono Mountain Elementary School, Pocono Mountain School District -- Pocono Mountain Senior High School, Pocono Mountain School District -- Swiftwater El Center, Pocono Mountain School District Montgomery County -- East Norriton Middle School, Norristown Area School District -- Upper Perkiomen Middle School, Upper Perkiomen School District Northumberland County -- Milton Area Elementary School, Milton Area School District Susquehanna County -- Elk Lake Elementary School, Elk Lake School District Tioga County -- Rock L. Butler Middle School, Wellsboro Area School District Union County -- Mifflinburg Area Middle School, Mifflinburg Area School District Washington County -- Cecil Middle School, Canon-McMillan School District -- Ringgold Senior High School, Ringgold School District Wayne County -- Wilson Elementary School, Western Wayne School District Westmoreland County -- Greater Latrobe Junior High School, Greater Latrobe School District -- Greater Latrobe Senior High School, Greater Latrobe School District -- Norwin Senior High School, Norwin School District Wyoming County -- Tunkhannock Middle School, Tunkhannock Area School District CONTACT: Kate Philips 717-783-1116 Brian McDonald, PDE 717-783-9802

Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

CONTACT: Kate Philips, Pennsylvania Office of the Governor,+1-717-783-1116, or Brian McDonald, Pennsylvania Department of Education,+1-717-783-9802

Web site: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/http://www.pde.state.pa.us/http://www.schoolmatters.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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