PA School Performance Profile: Spring-Ford Impresses

ROYERSFORD, PA — Results from the statewide Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) have been published by the Department of Education, and the results from Spring-Ford High School are very good.

The high school's overall academic score, which factors in test scores and school performance data from all categories, comes in at an elite mark of 97.3, maintaining the upper 90s score it has achieved for three years running.

The school improved slightly in all three major testing categories, earning 91 percent proficiency in Math (over 89 last year), 93 in Literature (93 last year), and 93 in Science (89 last year).

The assessment, done each year, gives each school a score of up to 100 using several factors, including test scores, student improvement from the past year, as well as graduation rates. The standardized tests measure student performance and help lawmakers understand progress in various school districts. The published test results analyze performance among the student body as a whole and among students in the "historically underperforming" category, which includes students with disabilities, English language learners, and those who come from an economically disadvantaged background.

Spring-Ford's most impressive marks might be in the "closing the achievement gap" categories, which represents how well the school is doing in improving the scores of historically underperforming students. In 2015-16, the school excelled in this category, earning 100 for Math, Literature, and Science. Those perfect numbers were repeated in 2016-17.

Graduation rates at Spring-Ford also remained strong, coming in at 97 percent this year, even better than last year's 95.

See how Spring-Ford's overall academic score compared to several area high schools below:

• Spring-Ford - 97.3
• North Penn - 89.9
• Abington - 89.6
• Phoenixville - 80.8
• Norristown - 68.8
• Hatboro-Horsham - 67.8

Standardized exams have been a point of contention in the state, especially over the past year. Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera said that starting with the 2017-18 school year, required time to take the PSSA's would be decreased by two days.

"High-stakes testing does not tell the full story and the Department is taking several actions to better communicate student progress in our schools," Rivera added.

Patch file photo