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PA School Districts

Should Pennsylvania Schools Get Report Cards Too?

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Schools have always issued report cards grading our students, but new legislation would require the state to issue report cards grading our schools too.  Under HB 1300, schools and school districts would receive a letter grade – A through F – every year.

“Coupled with providing options in education, providing this data to parents just really empowers them to get involved and make those decisions about their child’s education,” explains Ashley DeMauro, state director of StudentsFirst. “So I think as long as we’re empowering parents, obviously, it will have a positive impact.”

All public schools would be subject to the proposed new grading system, including charters and cyber charter schools. 

DeMauro says the letter grades would be based on multiple data measures, including students’ test scores and schools’ progress in closing achievement gaps.  The state already generates the data, but DeMauro recognizes that it’s often difficult to analyze.  She believes a school report card would paint a clear picture for parents, students and taxpayers. 

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) says the group has not conducted a thorough analysis of HB 1300, but suggests it would be unnecessary based on work the state is already doing to implement the PA School Performance Profile website.  DeMauro, however, says the bill was actually crafted to enhance the forthcoming SPP. 

In an email, the state Department of Education press secretary tells Radio PA the governor has been a supporter of making sure that parents understand the quality of the schools their children attend.  “The Governor would like to have a system that is easily understandable to all Pennsylvania families.  The administration will review this proposal,” the statement concludes.  

This is not a new issue, conceptually, but it is the first time such legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly.  The bill was just introduced this month and has been referred to the House Education Committee.

PA School Districts

State PSSA Scores Are Lower, Officials Point to Alleged Cheating Crackdown

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The state Education Secretary says the results of the 2011-12 PSSA tests reflect actual student performance after an investigation of exams from three previous years.  Compared to the 2010-11 results, the latest Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores declined by 1.4% in math and 1.6% in reading

These are the first tests since the state started taking a closer look at alleged cheating in some districts.   State Education Secretary Ron Tomalis says investigations continue in nine districts and charter schools and the department expects to file complaints against more than 100 educators suspected of misconduct in administering the tests.

Only 49% of the state’s public schools met Adequate Yearly Progress. Many districts fell short due to new federal regulations that require high school graduation rates to be factored in to the calculation.  Statewide, the number of students performing at or above grade level for math was 75.7%, for reading it was 71.9%, for writing it was 73.2%,   and for science it was 61.4%.

Tomalis calls the results a reset.  He says if you take out schools under investigation, achievement was flat.   The investigation has already resulted in increased test security measures, including monitors in schools that were under investigation.

The state’s largest teacher’s union  is also pointing a finger at the Corbett administration for the lower PSSA scores .  The Pennsylvania State Education Association says most educators know tampering or cheating is wrong, but it’s also wrong for the Corbett administration to use a small number of incidents to claim a statewide decline in test scores.

Spokesman Wythe Keever says the previous administration invested in public schools and students made steady gains, the Corbett administration cut nearly one billion from state funding  and standardized test scores declined.  He  says the need to restore funding to public schools is urgent.