Wissahickon PSSA Test Results

The was presented with the 2010-2011 PSSA test results at Monday night’s meeting. All schools and all subgroups achieved adequate yearly progress (AYP) on the statewide-standardized test.

To achieve AYP, the District had 84 targets to meet.

Jennifer Schmidt, of the office of Curriculum and Learning, showed the Board that grade 3 has seen steady growth in math and reading and grade four has seen growth in reading. However, there have been fluctuations in reading in grades 6 and grades 8. Grade 11 has seen steady gains in math performance with large gains in 2010-2011.

Board member, Marjorie Brown, asked about the dip in the numbers in 5th grade in reading and the drop in science in 11th grade. Schmidt said the district has worked to enhance the language arts program in the elementary schools and have added chemistry as a required class in the high school because of the PSSA test and made sure that the requirements are addressed during the new curriculum.

In the past years, the high school was listed as “Corrective Action 1” under the No Child Left Behind Act. This year, the high school, and all other schools in the district have achieved proficiency.

To help the schools achieve proficiency, the buildings have implemented common unit assessment on midterms and finals in the middle and high schools and are monitoring the effectiveness of remedial programs.

Board member, Burunda Prince-Jones asked Schmidt if there has been a single greatest factor in the improvement in the PSSA results. Schmidt responded that she’s “not sure there’s a single thing” but the administration has been utilizing the data and programs at their disposure and have been looking at classroom programs to do things better everyday.

Number Scored in Math