PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A recent study shows Philadelphia schools are outpacing other urban districts in recovering from the pandemic.
The report by Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research and the Educational Opportunity Project said, compared to other large and poor urban districts, Philadelphia's math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests have recovered from the pandemic the fastest, and its reading scores showed more post-COVID growth than only Chicago.
Schools Superintendent Tony Watlington touted the Harvard study at the school board's Goals and Guardrails meeting Thursday night.
"Anytime the School District of Philadelphia can get in first place in terms of rebound and improvement, we should celebrate and applaud our students and staff,” he said.
Overall, of the urban districts that took the tests, Philadelphia ranked near the bottom. Watlington, though, told the board that it's important to recognize growth.
"It validates that we're on the right track. We're making some significant progress, and yet, we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do,” he said.
"We should not immediately say, 'Well, the test scores are too low anyway.'"
He says they need to let teachers and students know that success begets more success.
“We've got to start looking at the glass as half full and not just always half empty."