Community Assessment Data
A Guide to Understanding the Well-Being of Children & Families in Erie County, Pennsylvania

Standardized School Test Achievement

CHARTS

Standardized School Test Achievement Percentages by District 2000 to 2001

Standardized School Test Achievement Percentages by County 2000 to 2001


MEASUREMENT

PSSA aggregate score information is reported by school Evaluation Services of Standard and Poor's. Standard and Poor's analyzed data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The percentage of students scoring below basic on the PSSA tests are the total number of students scoring Below Basic divided by the number of students who took the PSSA tests and multiplied by 100. The percentage of students passing are the total number of students scoring Advanced plus those scoring Proficient, divided by the number of students who took the PSSA tests and multiplied by 100.

DESCRIPTION

The annual Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) is a standards-based criterion-referenced assessment used to measure a student's attainment of the academic standards while also determining the degree to which school programs enable students to attain proficiency of the standards. Every Pennsylvania student in 5th, 8th and 11th grade is assessed in reading and math, and students in grades 6, 9, and 11 are assessed in writing.

In 1999, Pennsylvania adopted standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Although PSSA tests have been given for years, standards changes took place in 2000-2001 tests so informtion from 2000-20001 cannot be compared to results from the previous years.

DATA ANALYSIS

• The City of Erie, Corry, Northwestern and Union City school districts have a higher percentage of students Below Basic than the state average as well as a lower percentage of students passing than the state average.
• The percentage of participation for all Erie County school districts except the City of Erie met the 95% state requirement. For Urban Third Class cities, only Wilkes-Barre met the requirement.
• Almost 69% of the variance in PSSA scores Below Basic for the Erie County schools can be explained by the variance in the proportion of students who are economically disadvantaged. This rose to over 70% for Urban Third Class cities.
• Of the Urban Third Class cities, only Wilkes-Barre had a lower than state average of students scoring Below Basic while only Bethlehem had more than the state average passing.

FOOTNOTE

¹ Academic Standards and Assesment. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2003, from http;//www.datarecognitioncorp.com/paparent.

² School Evaluation Services. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2003, from http://www.ses.standardandpoors.com.