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 |
|
