NEPA school districts see proficiency rates decline on PSSA tests

Sarah Hofius Hall, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·3 min read

Nov. 30—Following more than two years of interrupted education, nearly every school district in Lackawanna County saw declines in proficiency rates on English, math and science state exams.

Some schools saw proficiency declines on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment near 50%, according to data released by the state Department of Education this week. That means that half as many students scored at proficient levels on the tests taken this spring, compared to 2019, the last exams before the COVID-19 pandemic began. For example, 11.8% of Scranton students scored at proficient or higher levels on the math exam, down from 24.5% three years ago.

The local scores mirror statewide and national results. Compared to 2019, overall proficiency statewide on the PSSA exams declined by 10.3% in English language arts, 18.8% in math and 8.5% in science. Proficiency rates for the 2022 exams are 54.6% for ELA, 34.4% for math and 62.2% for science.

"Like states across the nation, we are not yet seeing test results at pre-pandemic levels. However, student performance is generally improving year-over-year and schools across Pennsylvania are working overtime to accelerate learning and meet students where they are at as we emerge from the pandemic," Acting Secretary of Education Eric Hagarty said in a statement.

Third through eighth graders take English language arts and math exams, and a science exam is administered in fourth and eighth grades. Keystone Exams, which also showed declines this week, are end-of-course assessments in literature, biology and algebra I.

Districts have focused efforts to combat the pandemic learning loss and superintendents say they have already seen growth this fall.

"We need to identify the areas where there are deficits and how to intervene," Abington Heights Superintendent Christopher Shaffer, Ed.D., said. "If you do that, you're able to accelerate the closing of the gap."

Carbondale Area has already seen growth compared to 2021 tests, Superintendent Holly Sayre said. While the state required the tests last year, districts chose whether to administer them in the spring or fall, and many had extremely low participation rates.

"Kids are resilient. They're going to bounce back," Sayre said. "We're going to see our efforts pay off in the next couple years."

Valley View, which also saw proficiency rates decline, has seen growth this school year, while also strengthening programs for mental health.

"Even when we were online, we acknowledged that the best product we deliver is in our building, face to face with our teachers," Superintendent Michael Boccella, Ed.D., said. "We're really glad to be back to that."

Riverside was one of the only districts to see scores improve since 2019, increasing proficiency rates in both math and science. Superintendent Paul Brennan attributes the increase to many factors, including returning to in-person learning sooner than most districts and making changes, including longer blocks for English and math classes, shortly before the pandemic began.

"We never put a lot of faith into high stakes testing, but we definitely can attribute our gains to the hard work and dedication of our teachers and support staff," Brennan said.

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter.