PALS Meeting Minutes
November 30, 2016 9:30 a.m.
Roots of Faith
800 Main Street Pittsburgh, PA 15211
After hearing about grumbling from the community over the significantly lower School Performance Profile (SPP) of one area elementary school PALS thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the 2015-2016 SPPs, PSSAs, PASAs, and Keystones.
PALS went directly to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for all the information gathered. It should be noted that when we first attempted to retrieve the SPP data in October, we were met with a notice from PADOE indicating that there had been a data processing error. Apparently the data for the district and school level Keystone exam growth did not include students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs). The data has since been included and the SPP scores were adjusted statewide.
From this site you can access the SPP of a public or charter school in Pennsylvania allowing you to look at the school your child attends as well as other schools within the state for comparison. The opening page is the School Fast Facts:
From there, you can click on the Academic Performance tab to see the actual SPP Score and performance sheet:
It is important to remember this is the first year that the new PSSA scores from K-8 students are included in the SPP. Therefore is no data to compare this report, 2015-2016, to the prior school year. The comparison is available for the 2013-2014 school year and prior. However, it is important to note those scores are based on the previous PSSAs. The consistency among educators is that the new PSSAs are more rigorous.
The breakdown of the various data elements that make up a district and school level SPP are as follows:
50% of the SPP score comes from
Indicators of Academic Achievement - includes PSSA/Keystone performance, industry standards-based company assessments, grade three reading proficiency, and SAT/ACT college ready benchmarks.
Indicators of Closing the Achievement Gap - All students scores are used to define how well a school is making progress toward proficiency of all students.
Indicators of Closing the Achievement Gap - Historically Underperforming Students' scores are used to define how well a school is making progress toward proficiency. The high needs students are students who have historically not demonstrated proficiency.
NOTE: Historically Underperforming Students This category replaces the various subgroups previously identified for purpose of AYP (the old "Report Card"). These subgroups previously required 40 or more students tested, the number is now 11. This group is not a cohort but rather students currently in the building meeting the definition during the reported year.defined as a non-duplicated count of are; students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English Language Learners enrolled for a full academic year taking the PSSA/PASA/Keystone Exams. If a student is in more than one of the individual groups, s/he is only included in the HUS group one time.
40% of the SPP score comes from
Indicators of Academic Growth/PVAAS - Measures the school's impact on the academic progress of groups of students from year-to-year.
10% of the SPP score comes from
Other Academic Indicators - Assesses factors that contribute to student achievement (e.g. graduation rate, promotion rate, attendance rate).
Schools may earn up to 7 additional point via Extra Credit for Advanced Achievement based upon advanced performance on state and industry assessments, as well as for students earning a 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement exam or 4 or higher on an International Baccalaureate exam.
For further information on the Pennsylvania School Performance Profile the PADOE offers a FAQ pamphlet, downloadable here.
We took a look at the 2016 PSSA Proficiency Results for grade and elementary school level in FCASD. Areas left blank represent fewer than 10 students taking the test in that group. We noted a good number of Historically Underperforming Students were scoring at an Advanced or Proficient level. Although it is unclear how the individual groups within HUS performed.
Next, we then took a look at the 2015 Pennsylvania Statewide Assessment (FFY2014) Performance of Students with Disabilities by Accommodation. Although ideally we would prefer to have looked at the 2016 PSA (FFY2015) scores, they are not available yet. The table provided district level data, broken down into mathematics/algebra and reading/literature. We've modified the table here to only include FCASD.
We looked at the FCASD Special Education Data Report for 2015-2016 which is provided by the state in the link above. Simply type in the school district for an individualized report.
Finally, we took at look at the PaTTAN PowerPoint titled Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment 1% Cap Selection which focuses on an overview of how PASA Advanced and Proficient scores are calculated for accountability, in other words the SPP.
Next Meeting: January 25, 2017, 6:30 p.m. Lauri Ann West Library 1212 Main Street Pittsburgh, PA 15215
Topic: Cindy Duch, Director of Parent Advising at The Peal Center will provide an overview of 504 Plans and answer questions.