Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) – The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), passed by Congress in 2001, changed the federal government's role in elementary and secondary education. It requires schools to have a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom by 2006 and show annual gains on state standardized tests demonstrating that, by 2012; all students can read and do math at proficient levels.
In Pennsylvania, the state test that determines if schools are measuring up to the new law is the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). The PSSA is given to all public school students in grades three, five, eight and 11, in the areas of math, reading and writing. The test abbreviations are: 9W – 9 th grade writing, 11M – 11 th grade math, 11R – 11 th grade reading, and 11W – 11 th grade writing. The results are ranked: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient or Advanced. Pennsylvania schools must bring students to the level of "Proficient" or higher within the next decade. This indicates academic performance that is "satisfactory" or "superior", as opposed to "inadequate" or "marginal". In this Paper, you will see what percent of students at each school scored at a level of Basic or higher in tested grades in the Math and Reading portions of the Spring 2003 PSSA, as reported by the PA Department of Education. (Note: Some charter schools do not have a grade level that is tested in the PSSA.)
TerraNova CTBS – The School District of Philadelphia administered the TerraNova Test, Second Edition, for the first time in Fall 2002. It replaced the Stanford-9 Achievement Test (SAT-9) used in the past. In the future, the TerraNova will be given yearly, in the spring, in grades 1-10, and will be used to track school performance over time. Unlike the PSSA, the TerraNova is also used to monitor individual student achievement. Beginning in the 2003-2004 school year it will be used to help determine whether children in grades three and eight are ready to be promoted to the next grade levels. The TerraNova compares local student test results with those of a national sample of results. In this directory, each school's page indicates the percent of all students at that school who scored "at or above the national average" in Reading (TR), Language (TL), Math (TM) and Science (TS) on the TerraNova, for all grades tested at that school in Spring 2003. This information was tabulated by the School District of Philadelphia from the test results provided by the test publisher, CTB McGraw-Hill.
IEP – Individualized Education Program. The written program for a student who has a disability or is gifted. Gifted students in the IEP program were excluded from this analysis.
FRL – Students eligible for the Free and reduced Price Lunch program.
Tables
Enrollment, Demographics, & Wait List by School for 2001-2002 Academic Year
School
Region
Total Enroll
Black
White
Hispanic
Asian
Native
IEP
FRL
Wait List
Charles Audenreid HS
South
1013
0.970
0.008
0.010
0.012
0.000
0.119
0.853
Samuel Fels HS
North
1427
0.565
0.123
0.161
0.149
0.002
0.119
0.614
Furness HS
South
1359
0.436
0.235
0.057
0.269
0.002
0.119
0.711
Roxborough HS
Northwest
1235
0.748
0.215
0.020
0.015
0.002
0.119
0.475
Abraham Lincoln HS
East
1996
0.405
0.460
0.094
0.036
0.004
0.119
0.488
John Bartram HS
Southwest
3294
0.900
0.046
0.005
0.046
0.003
0.119
0.701
Thomas Edison HS
Central-East
2358
0.184
0.028
0.777
0.010
0.002
0.119
0.862
Frankford HS
East
2096
0.437
0.328
0.212
0.022
0.001
0.119
0.689
Benjamin Franklin HS
Central
1435
0.941
0.016
0.041
0.001
0.001
0.119
0.844
Germantown HS
Northwest
1851
0.977
0.010
0.012
0.000
0.001
0.119
0.631
Simon Gratz HS
Central
2187
0.981
0.005
0.013
0.000
0.000
0.119
0.808
Kensington
Central-East
1449
0.230
0.252
0.487
0.027
0.005
0.119
0.860
Northeast HS
Northeast
3295
0.267
0.508
0.117
0.107
0.002
0.119
0.449
Olney HS
North
2520
0.560
0.035
0.312
0.091
0.002
0.119
0.793
Overbrook HS
West
2095
0.984
0.007
0.006
0.001
0.001
0.119
0.635
William Penn HS
Central
1950
0.950
0.007
0.038
0.004
0.001
0.119
0.804
South Philadelphia HS
South
1187
0.535
0.160
0.029
0.275
0.002
0.119
0.791
West Philadelphia HS
Southwest
1818
0.983
0.005
0.007
0.003
0.002
0.119
0.794
University City HS
West
1903
0.973
0.004
0.006
0.016
0.001
0.119
0.801
George Washington HS
Northeast
2721
0.292
0.508
0.074
0.124
0.002
0.119
0.439
Martin Luther King, Jr. HS
Northwest
1848
0.979
0.009
0.010
0.001
0.001
0.119
0.623
Strawberry Mansion HS
Central
1187
0.987
0.004
0.007
0.001
0.000
0.119
0.844
Community Academy of Philadelphia CS
Central-East
215
0.172
0.005
0.823
0.000
0.000
0.076
0.978
540
World Communications CS
South
121
0.983
0.000
0.008
0.008
0.000
0.036
0.600
700
YouthBuild Philadelphia CS
Central
225
0.942
0.013
0.013
0.027
0.004
0.031
0.748
N/A
Preparatory CS
South
448
0.500
0.433
0.027
0.040
0.000
0.031
0.620
88
Center for Economics & Law CS
Southwest
352
0.991
0.006
0.003
0.000
0.000
0.034
0.000
210
Imhotep Institute CHS
Northwest
438
0.989
0.000
0.011
0.000
0.000
0.085
0.000
400
Multi-Cultural Academy CS
Northwest
165
0.855
0.006
0.055
0.085
0.000
0.018
0.890
34
Math, Science & Technology CS
Northeast
241
0.149
0.759
0.071
0.017
0.004
0.074
0.680
Architecture & Design CHS
South
345
0.852
0.096
0.046
0.006
0.000
0.020
0.806
Math, Civics & Sciences CS
Central
212
0.986
0.009
0.005
0.000
0.000
0.033
0.790
3000
Freire CS
Central
164
0.963
0.024
0.006
0.006
0.000
0.044
0.650
400
Nueva Esperanza Academy CS
North
326
0.080
0.000
0.920
0.000
0.000
0.092
0.880
45
Franklin Towne CHS
East
686
0.162
0.748
0.080
0.009
0.001
0.137
0.586
50
Delaware Valley CHS
Northwest
356
0.994
0.006
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.023
0.730
Mariana Bracetti Academy CS
Central-East
102
0.265
0.020
0.716
0.000
0.000
0.123
0.850
0
Mastery (High Tech High) CS
South
105
0.810
0.048
0.143
0.000
0.000
0.057
0.705
Hope CS
Northwest
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
Philadelphia Electrical & Technology CHS
South
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
School
Total Enroll
Black
White
Hispanic
Asian
Native
IEP
FRL
Attendance
Drop-Out Rate
Average Charter
High Schools
281.313
67.1%
15.2%
12.3%
5.3%
0.2%
0.057
68.9%
0.874
0.029
Average SDP
High Schools
1919.273
62.5%
21.0%
15.2%
1.2%
0.1%
0.119
68.4%
0.732
0.129
PSSA Test Scores by school for the 2002-2003 Academic Year
School Region Drop 9W 11M 11R 11W 9Wscore 11Mscore 11Rscore Benjamin Franklin HSHS
Central
12.8%
48.6
8.4
24.1
58.5
1110
1030
990
Freire CS
Central
0.5%
42.7
27.8
61.2
84.8
1110
1100
1180
Math, Civics & Sciences CS
Central
0.0%
90.4
17.3
40.8
81.7
1440
1080
1110
Simon Gratz HS
Central
12.9%
31.0
14.6
30.5
59.7
1050
1060
1050
Strawberry Mansion HS
Central
17.2%
44.8
42.9
27.6
*
1110
1170
1040
William Penn HS
Central
2.7%
42.5
14.6
36.5
77.0
1100
1070
1070
YouthBuild Philadelphia CS
Central
27.1%
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Community Academy of Philadelphia CS
Central-East
1.8%
81.0
20.0
39.9
65.8
1250
1100
1100
Kensington HS
Central-East
23.3%
26.1
17.0
30.0
42.1
1000
1090
1060
Mariana Bracetti CS
Central-East
1.3%
46.4
*
*
*
1080
*
*
Thomas Edison HS
Central-East
16.7%
37.7
14.8
27.2
67.4
1020
1060
1000
Abraham Lincoln HS
East
10.4%
54.1
42.8
56.0
58.4
1160
1170
1180
Frankford HS
East
10.4%
57.6
24.7
31.2
63.0
1160
1100
1040
Franklin Towne CHS
East
0.9%
73.0
32.4
53.1
71.8
1270
1140
1140
Nueva Esperanza Academy CS
North
10.1%
53.3
18.3
32.7
65.8
1140
1100
1070
Olney HS
North
7.3%
35.0
19.9
25.8
59.6
1030
1090
1010
Samuel Fels HS
North
11.9%
42.4
32.8
35.7
56.9
1080
1130
1050
George Washington HS
Northeast
4.7%
51.9
55.7
67.6
75.1
1150
1250
1240
MaST Community CS
Northeast
1.0%
84.4
71.4
81.7
89.6
1310
1270
1290
Northeast HS
Northeast
5.6%
71.0
55.1
66.3
77.0
1250
1220
1210
Delaware Valley CHS
Northwest
0.0%
60.3
4.6
28.6
0.0
1170
1050
1010
Germantown HS
Northwest
7.4%
48.0
20.5
38.1
64.8
1130
1090
1100
Hope CS
Northwest
36.9
8.6
7.7
43.2
1050
1030
900
Imhotep Institute CHS
Northwest
0.0%
38.1
31.5
53.2
73.7
1090
1130
1140
Martin Luther King, Jr. HS
Northwest
9.0%
59.5
28.7
35.1
42.1
1170
1130
1090
Multi-Cultural Academy CS
Northwest
0.0%
70.1
51.6
48.4
71.9
1270
1210
1150
Roxborough HS
Northwest
6.9%
77.6
32.0
45.4
76.6
1270
1130
1110
Architecture & Design CHS
South
1.2%
67.3
42.0
66.7
96.5
1230
1170
1210
Charles Audenreid HS
South
33.8%
13.9
12.7
31.3
35.8
950
1070
1030
Mastery CS
South
0.0%
78.9
*
*
*
1230
*
*
Horace Furness HS
South
15.2%
61.4
35.4
38.0
77.5
1190
1150
1100
Philadelphia Electrical & Technology CHS
South
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Preparatory CS
South
2.0%
83.6
48.3
61.1
96.7
1360
1190
1200
South Philadelphia HS
South
18.2%
32.6
37.1
23.6
56.1
1030
1160
1020
World Communications CS
South
0.0%
88.4
40.7
92.6
100.0
1330
1170
1300
Center for Economics & Law CS
Southwest
0.9%
78.7
15.5
57.4
79.1
1280
1090
1200
John Bartram HS
Southwest
17.5%
48.7
23.5
33.8
61.3
1130
1100
1060
West Philadelphia HS
Southwest
19.3%
61.4
16.2
21.1
65.1
1170
1060
1020
Overbrook HS
West
11.9%
62.0
13.7
30.5
51.6
1200
1050
1040
University City HS
West
9.2%
65.2
25.5
36.8
74.5
1210
1110
1080
Measure
Grade 9 Writing
Grade 11 Math
Grade 11 Reading
Grade 11 Writing
Grade 11 Writing
Grade 11 Math
Grade 11 Reading
Charter School Median
71.55
29.65
53.15
76.40
1240.00
1115.00
1145.00
Charter School Average
67.09
30.71
51.79
72.90
1225.63
1130.71
1142.86
SDP Median
48.65
24.10
32.55
61.30
1130.00
1100.00
1055.00
SDP Average
48.77
26.75
36.01
61.91
1121.36
1113.18
1072.27
TerraNova Test Scores by school for the 2002-2003 Academic Year
School Region TRabv TLabv TMabv TSabv Benjamin Franklin HS
Central
14.7
11.8
8.8
5.3
Freire CS
Central
29.4
30.0
20.7
20.4
Math, Civics & Sciences CS
Central
38.5
40.6
25.6
33.3
Simon Gratz HS
Central
16.5
14.5
11.5
10.2
Strawberry Mansion HS
Central
17.4
15.6
20.7
11.3
William Penn HS
Central
22.3
21.6
15.2
5.9
YouthBuild Philadelphia CS
Central
*
*
*
*
Community Academy of Philadelphia CS
Central-East
28.5
24.6
25.8
15.8
Kensington HS
Central-East
17.6
12.8
16.4
11.8
Mariana Bracetti CS
Central-East
20.6
20.4
20.1
10.4
Thomas Edison HS
Central-East
18.0
15.4
12.3
12.2
Abraham Lincoln HS
East
41.6
35.2
31.8
28.5
Frankford HS
East
28.2
24.2
24.2
15.9
Franklin Towne CHS
East
52.9
46.3
43.3
43.1
Nueva Esperanza Academy CS
North
22.0
17.6
15.4
12.6
Olney HS
North
17.4
14.1
15.5
12.3
Samuel Fels HS
North
23.1
22.3
19.1
12.8
George Washington HS
Northeast
57.2
52.9
50.3
40.9
MaST Community CS
Northeast
69.9
70.5
66.9
53.5
Northeast HS
Northeast
46.5
44.4
47.6
39.6
Delaware Valley CHS
Northwest
16.8
16.2
10.9
12.1
Germantown HS
Northwest
20.4
19.4
19.5
13.9
Hope CS
Northwest
6.0
5.5
1.7
3.3
Imhotep Institute CHS
Northwest
20.6
20.6
11.3
11.8
Martin Luther King, Jr. HS
Northwest
16.1
13.6
19.4
11.4
Multi-Cultural Academy CS
Northwest
33.3
29.9
17.2
25.3
Roxborough HS
Northwest
40.2
41.8
48.8
25.7
Architecture & Design CHS
South
55.7
58.5
47.4
42.6
Charles Audenreid HS
South
11.9
10.6
8.2
5.5
Mastery CS
South
51.5
46.4
50.5
28.5
Horace Furness HS
South
21.2
16.6
25.2
13.0
Philadelphia Electrical & Technology CHS
South
44.6
35.3
26.5
24.5
Preparatory CS
South
57.4
60.4
39.7
31.9
South Philadelphia HS
South
16.0
14.6
22.4
9.4
World Communications CS
South
42.2
44.0
43.9
31.9
Center for Economics & Law CS
Southwest
45.7
48.6
30.2
28.3
John Bartram HS
Southwest
26.9
22.9
21.3
16.4
West Philadelphia HS
Southwest
17.2
16.6
11.3
9.7
Overbrook HS
West
25.1
19.7
14.3
10.9
University City HS
West
26.0
22.9
13.7
10.9
Measure
Reading
Language
Math
Science
Charter School Median
35.92
35.28
25.67
26.81
Charter School Average
36.94
36.26
29.42
25.30
SDP Median
20.78
17.99
19.22
12.00
SDP Average
24.61
21.98
21.69
15.15
Attendance and Violence Tables
The following charts show the attendance rates, number of violent incidents and number of weapons confiscated in the 2001-2002 academic year for the traditional public high schools and the charter high schools, by region. With few exceptions, attendance rates are consistently higher at the charter schools while the number of violent incidents and the number of weapons seized is lower.
Central Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Benjamin Franklin HS
68.94
24
8
Simon Gratz HS
78.79
41
11
William Penn HS
75.33
48
7
Strawberry Mansion HS
67.57
33
11
Math, Civics & Sciences CS
92.00
3
3
Freire CS
86.00
0
0
YouthBuild CS
69.29
0
0
Central-East Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Thomas Edison HS
73.26
15
6
Kensington HS
64.95
40
5
Philadelphia Community Academy CS
77.77
0
0
Mariana Bracetti Academy CS
91.38
2
2
East Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Lincoln
76.04
64
14
Frankford
81.45
41
11
Franklin Towne CHS
85.75
75
0
North Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Samuel Fels HS
72.30
41
20
Olney HS
65.09
56
8
Nueva Esperanza CS
86.97
50
7
Northeast Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Northeast HS
83.87
52
1
George Washington HS
85.70
59
15
MaST Community CS
90.73
0
0
Northwest Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Roxborough HS
82.15
34
9
Germantown HS
69.31
60
25
Martin Luther King HS
71.96
38
25
Imhotep Institute CHS
85.00
6
0
Multi-Cultural Academy CS
95.00
5
0
Delaware Valley CHS
83.00
0
0
Hope CS
South Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Charles Audenreid HS
57.06
25
7
Samuel Furness HS
71.66
23
9
South Philadelphia HS
68.24
51
9
World Communications CS
95.00
0
0
Preparatory CS
89.02
0
0
Architecture & Design CHS
91.55
0
0
Mastery CS
94.82
0
0
Phila. Electrical & Technology CS
Southwest Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
John Bartram HS
78.35
69
23
West Philadelphia HS
70.46
55
12
Center for Economics & Law CS
85.67
2
2
West Region
School
Attendance
Violent Incidents
Weapons
Overbrook HS
71.33
38
19
University City HS
76.44
27
3
1207 Chestnut Street, 7th Floor