PENNSYLVANIA SYSTEM OF SCHOOL ASSESSMENT (PSSA)
READING, MATHEMATICS & 11TH GRADE WRITING
SCHOOL-BY-SCHOOL PERFORMANCE LEVEL & SCALED SCORE RESULTS
AUGUST 2004
Background
The state’s assessment system is known as the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). Tests are required under the Chapter 4 Regulations of the State Board of Education and the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The tests are based on Pennsylvania’s Academic Standards in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening and Mathematics.
The state currently assesses students in Mathematics and Reading at grades 3, 5, 8 and 11. Writing was assessed in the 2003/04 school year at grades 6, 9 and 11. By 2005/06, the state will assess students in grades 4, 6 and 7 in Mathematics and Reading and will assess students in grades 5, 8 and 11 in Writing. By 2007/08, the state will include Science assessments. These additions to the current system are required by NCLB. These files include school and district PSSA performance levels and scaled scores for grades 5, 8 and 11 in Reading and Mathematics and grade 11 in Writing.
How to read this report
This report contains PSSA performance level and scaled score data in Reading, Mathematics and Writing for all public schools listed by county, IU and district. In addition, results are reported for:
Ø Intermediate Units. IUs provide a wide variety of educational program services to special needs students with disabilities within 29 regions in Pennsylvania. The students served by IUs typically have severe disabilities, which occur at relatively low incidence in the general school population.
Ø Approved Private Schools. APSs provide specific special education programs for students with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, neurological impairment, or serious emotional disturbance who cannot be adequately served by their school district or intermediate unit. An Approved Private School is a private school licensed by the State Board of Private Academic Schools.
Ø Private Residential Rehabilitative Institutions. PRRIs are residential facilities for court placed juveniles who are declared legally delinquent under the Juvenile Act. Educational services are provided to the PRRI students as part of their total rehabilitative package of services pursuant to a contract with the school district or IU.
Ø Non-public and private schools. These schools are not required to participate in the PSSA. However, the Department offers these educational institutions the option of voluntarily participating in the PSSA provided they agree to include their results in Department reports and publications
Performance levels
Performance levels were initially reported based upon the April 2001 Reading and Mathematics PSSA for grades 5, 8 and 11. (While the Grade 3 Reading and Mathematics Assessments are administered, performance levels at this grade have not yet been determined and implemented.) These performance levels, designated as advanced, proficient, basic and below basic, are criteria based measures that represent how well a student is achieving in a particular area of Pennsylvania’s Academic Standards. Committees of Pennsylvania educators established the performance levels.
Since the “cut scores” that reference the achievement criteria for advanced, proficient, basic and below basic performance levels remain unchanged across years (and continue represent the same achievement thresholds across years) these measures can reflect growth (change) from 2001 -- the first year of performance level implementation. For example, a school that has 14% of its students advanced in fifth grade math in 2001 and then increases this to 23% advanced in 2003 has shown an actual growth in the “advanced” category criterion referenced achievement (in fifth grade math).
Keep in mind
In some cases, test data are not listed for a school. This occurs when a school does not have students in the PSSA grade(s) tested. For example, an elementary school that does not have fifth, eighth or eleventh graders would not participate in the Reading or Mathematics PSSA. In addition, some educational institutions generally serve special populations, such as IUs, APSs and PRRIs. Further, because each one of these educational institutions is highly unique, they should be contacted to best understand their student population.
In addition, the size of the school/educational institution should also be considered in interpreting the results from year to year. That is, institutions with a lesser number of children will tend to show more variability in scores from year to year. Schools that have less than 10 students assessed are noted by an asterisk (*).
Contact Information:
Division of Assessment
Voice: 717.787.4234
