BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL
Times-Shamrock Writer

Changes in state standardized tests equal plummeting scores for school districts across Pennsylvania.

With the switch to a more rigorous curriculum and a new standard for proficiency, school districts in the region saw declines of 80 percent or more in the number of students making the grade.

In Old Forge, that means only 13 percent of students in eighth grade scored at proficient or advanced levels in math, down from 79 percent in 2014. In North Pocono, math proficiency at the middle school went from 76 percent to 38 percent. At Valley View, eighth-grade math proficiency dropped from 74.4 percent to 18 percent.

The declines have area educators frustrated with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Educators are evaluating curriculum and preparing for a barrage of questions from parents and taxpayers. Superintendents also fear that when the state releases the results this fall, teachers and students will suffer low morale. Some students who previously scored at advanced levels will learn they are now at basic or below basic levels.

“I know our teachers worked extremely hard. Our students worked hard,” Old Forge Superintendent John Rushefski said. “It’s disheartening when you get the results you get.”

Statewide drop
Each spring, students in third through eighth grades take Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests in English and math. Students in grades four and eight also take science tests, and fifth and eighth graders also take writing tests. High school students take end-of-course Keystone exams.

Tests taken this spring were the first to be fully aligned with the new, more rigorous PA Core Standards, the state’s version of Common Core standards.
For several years, area districts have transitioned to the new curriculum. Due to heightened standards, some material is being tested a full academic year earlier than under the former standards, according to the Department of Education. Cut scores also changed this year, meaning students must achieve more correct answers to receive proficient or advanced status.

“It is important to remember the assessment has changed, and due to the increased rigor of the standards a dip in scores is anticipated,” Nicole Reigelman, spokeswoman for the department, wrote in an email.

The state has not released scores to the public, but a statewide analysis by WHYY/Newsworks showed that the proficiency rates in grades three through eight dropped on average by 35.4 percentage points in math and 9.4 percentage points in English. The department plans to fully release the scores in the next month, and parents should receive their children’s scores in September.

The state discourages comparing this year’s proficiency rates to last year’s scores, and instead calls this year’s scores a new baseline for measuring future growth.

“Over the next several years, (the state Department of Education) anticipates student performance should grow steadily as resources return to the classroom, and students and teachers become more familiar with the PA Core,” Ms. Reigelman said. “The Wolf administration and (the department) believe standardized assessments should not be the sole indicator of student success, but must be considered as part of a comprehensive appraisal of student growth and academic achievement.”

Local concerns
Local school officials have spent the last few weeks deciphering their results. The state has not released figures, but a sample of scores provided by districts shows that proficiency rates have decreased. While reading scores have also decreased, the biggest drops are in math scores.

In Scranton, fourth-graders who scored on the proficient level in math dropped from 32 percent to 22 percent. The percentage of students who scored at the advanced level was unavailable Friday. Total proficiency is generally considered the total number of students who score at proficient or advanced levels.

“We can’t misinterpret why they are lower,” said new Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D. “Our students are still the same students, at the same level. What has changed is we’re grading them differently.”

At Valley View, for example, third-grade total math proficiency dropped from 75.2 percent to 49 percent. Eighth-grade math proficiency dropped from 74.4 percent to 18 percent.

“At first glance, when you look at the numbers, you can’t help but think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is alarming,’” said Michael Boccella, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction.

While the scores are primarily an issue of perception, the district is working to strengthen curriculum and increase rigor in the classroom, he said.

Superintendents are also concerned about the message the test results will send to students. For example, if a student took algebra in eighth grade, he or she could have passed the end-of-course Keystone exam but scored at the basic level on the PSSA test.

“On one end, kids are being extremely successful, but yet they’re not successful on the PSSA,” said Bryan McGraw, North Pocono superintendent. “We really have to get some guidance from the state.”

Educators also wonder how the test results will affect districts’ school performance profile scores, which are released in the fall, and how test scores will affect the new evaluation system for teachers and principals.

The drop in scores puts the validity of the exams in jeopardy, Riverside Superintendent Paul Brennan said.

“If they were going to roll it out like they did, they should have put some shock absorbers into the process and the new assessments,” he said. “Now, we are the ones left facing the music.”