PSSA scores up across the board

By Dawn Goodman
Staff Writer
dgoodman@observer-reporter.com
An increased number of Pennsylvania students are on grade level in every grade tested in reading and math, state Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said Monday.
“When you see the continued growth, you want to jump out of your skin and celebrate,” he said during a teleconference.
It’s the first time that all grade levels have seen an increase in all subjects on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, said state Department of Education spokesman Michael Race. The smallest gain was one-tenth in 11th grade math and the largest gain was 4.9 in seventh grade math.
The state Department of Education released the test scores early in hopes of impacting the state budget battle, Zahorchak said. Some budget proposals have more education dollars than others.
Since 2002, Pennsylvania has spent an additional $3 billion on education, Race said.
“It shows the strategic investments we have are paying off,” he said.
Zahorchak, who was attending a special education conference in Bedford, Pa., said with the ongoing conversation about the budget happening now, he didn’t want to regret waiting to release the scores in August.
Individual district PSSA scores, subgroup scores and Adequate Yearly Progress results will be released in late August.
Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://orbehindthedesk.blogspot.com.