The PSSA data is cumbersome and thus it's easy to get overwhelmed when looking at pages upon pages of numbers.
We're going to break down the numbers to make them easier to digest. In the coming days, we will be taking a look at different groups of WCASD students to try and understand the trajectory of their PSSA scores and the potential implications of the scores.
Before we begin, it might be helpful for you to view this page to understand the purpose of the tests, as well as some of the language used to aggregate the results. It's important to note that the results identify Historically Underperforming students as "a non-duplicated count of students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English Language Learners enrolled for a full academic year taking the PSSA/Keystone Exams."
For the purposes of our deep dive into PSSA data, we are going to look at WCASD scores for:
Isolated groups of students. This group represents a snapshot in time of 8th graders.
Specific groups of students. This group represents the Historically Underperforming students in various grade levels.
A group of students over time. We will track a group of students to see how their scores progress over time.
Let's dip our toes into the PSSA data by looking at the 2022 data for 8th graders across the school district. The 8th graders listed below are currently in 9th grade. (See this post for more info on how the PSSAs are scored.)
25.7% advanced in English & 5% advanced in math
46.3% proficient in English & 16.3% proficient in math
20.6% basic in English & 37.6% basic in math
7.4% below basic in English & 41.4% below basic in math
79% of Fugett 8th graders scored basic or below basic in math.
18.2% advanced in English & 8.1% advanced in math
49.7% proficient in English & 19.6% proficient in math
24% basic in English & 34.5% basic in math
8.1% below basic in English & 37.8% below basic in math
72.3% of Peirce 8th graders scored basic or below basic in math.
24.9% advanced in English & 9% advanced in math
49.1% proficient in English & 16.4% proficient in math
18.6% basic in English & 30.2% basic in math
7.4% below basic in English & 25.4% below basic in math
55.6% of Stetson 8th graders scored basic or below basic in math.
Are you surprised to learn that many of our 8th grade (currently 9th grade) students are unable to perform BASIC MATH?!
Have you heard our school board or the school district administration talking about these numbers?
Is this the result of our district taking the focus off academics and focusing instead on social justice issues? Or is this a pandemic related learning loss? Or both?
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