PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Preliminary data from the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test shows that students in the Philadelphia School District are getting a little closer to performing at pre-pandemic levels, but most are still not making the grade.
Deputy Superintendent Jermaine Dawson told the school board Thursday that the 2022-2023 PSSA scores indicate a slight improvement overall.
"Students may not have reached directly, yet, proficiency. But they are moving in the right direction," he said.
Data show proficiency improved slightly in PSSA math scores for grades three through eight; third grade English; and Science for grades four and eight.
On the English test, only a little more than a third of students in grades three through eight scored in the top two performance tiers of "proficient" or "advanced." Dawson said more students, though, moved out of the bottom tier of "below basic."
"In all three subject areas, the percentage of students scoring below basic declined," Dawson told the board. "We're still slightly below the pre-COVID levels in 2018 and '19 but we are catching up and we are closing the achievement gap in those areas."
For example, on the English test for grades three to eight, Dawson said the percentage of students scoring "proficient" or "advanced" rose about 3 points, to 31%.
School board Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez said even though there's a long way to go, the numbers were encouraging.
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"We know where we're not where we need to be,” Fix-Lopez said. “We're not even close to where we know the kids deserve to be. But I do think that this preliminary data is very hopeful."
The district is introducing a new math curriculum this year and piloting intense tutoring at six to eight schools.
Superintendent Tony Watlington said better attendance is the key to improving academics, and he's exploring strategies to incentivize students to come to school.
"If we don't get our kids face to face, eyeball to eyeball with teachers, it will be hard to drive that improvement," he said.
Watlington said more detailed PSSA data would be available by late fall or early winter.