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Politics & Government

Pennsbury Makes AYP; 4 Schools Get Warnings

Pennsbury School District fared better then the school districts in Bristol Borough and Township.

 

As the Bristol school districts received warnings, Pennsbury earned Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status after the state education department released data on students’ PSSA results for 2012.

District and school performance on statewide math and reading PSSA assessments, taken by students in elementary through high school, is the primary factor in determining AYP, which is federally mandated under 2001’s No Child Left Behind act. Science and writing PSSA results are not counted toward AYP.

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“The AYP student performance target for the 2011-12 school year was 78 percent for math and 81 percent for reading, compared to 67 percent and 72 percent, respectively, in 2010-11,” the Department of Education noted in a release.

Pennsbury met or improved upon 2011’s academic performance levels in nearly every grade that took the test. Math in the high school level was the only area where where performance levels dropped, data showed.

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Pennsbury High School remains under Corrective Action II status for a second year after faring poorly in the mathematics section of the PSSA. The status means that schools must work with the state to develop and implement an action plan to improve test scores.

Four of the district’s 10 elementary schools - Makefield, Manor, Oxford Valley and Village Park - received warnings due to poor academic performance in the standardized tests that were taken in spring.

The district middle school program met AYP, according to the state.

To review PSSA scores and AYP results, visit the Department of Education website.

Statewide, 2012 PSSA scores declined from when test last were taken in spring of 2011.

Across the state, 75.7 percent of students made the math AYP and 71.9 percent of test-takers met AYP in the reading assessment, according to the DOE.

Education secretary Ron Tomalis credited the decline to a massive state-ordered investigation into PSSA irregularities that took place in 2011 across the state. The investigation revealed that some test sheets had been altered to increase student achievement rates.

The secretary also stated that increases in test security requirements and testing procedures are likely to have contributed to the decrease in performance.

The PSSA will next be taken by students in spring of 2013.

Pennsbury High School was recently recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal for the students high SAT scores.

 

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