Seneca Valley Breaks Down Adequate Yearly Progress Results from PSSAs

Although two areas still need work, the has met its 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress goals based on results from the Pennsylvania State Assessment Tests.

The results were released in mid-September. Dr. Jeffrey Fuller, assistant superintendent of instruction for students in kindergarten through sixth grade, broke down what that means at Monday’s school board meeting.

“We’ve shown growth in our schools and growth in their achievements,” he said.

The PSSAs are a standardized test administered annually to schools in Pennsylvania. Students in grades three through eight and grade 11 are measured in reading, mathematics, science and writing. Seneca Valley has about 550 students at each grade level.

The Adequate Yearly Progress results show the reading and math targets the state, the school districts and the schools must reach to be considered on track for 100 percent proficiency by 2014 under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

While Fuller said the district as a whole met its target for 2011, two of the schools were placed on a warning list because certain subgroups failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress goals.

In Seneca Valley’s case, a subgroup of about 44 economically-disadvantaged students at the failed to meet the requirements in math. At , a subgroup of about 45 special education students didn’t make the target in reading

Fuller was careful to say the subgroups' failure to meet the targets doesn’t tell the whole story of the district’s achievements. PSSA results showed all the schools scored higher than the state average for levels of proficient or advanced understanding in reading, math, writing and science. Most of the schools also showed growth from last year’s PSSA results, he said.

also was listed as having the greatest PSSA individual student growth improvement out of 1,389 middle schools in the state for math and reading.

“Overall, we’re very pleased with the results,” he said.

District Superintendent Dr. Tracy Vitale, who delves into the Adequate Yearly Progress results and what will be done about them in her newly-launched "Reflections" column on the Seneca Valley district website, also applauded the district's achievements.

"We are very proud of the test scores," she said. "We feel the students at Seneca Valley are getting a quality education."

Fuller said additional assistance and support would be provided to the students identified in the two subgroups to help them achieve proficiency next year. A subgroup of special education students at last year failed to meet requirements, he said. But, after the district worked with the subgroup, the students achieved their adequate yearly progress goals in 2011.

“We plan to do everything we can for them to be successful,” he said.

Board president Bob Hill said results from the district’s PSSAs have helped lead Seneca Valley's jump from number 48 to number 16 on the Pittsburgh Business Times annual ranking of Western Pennsylvania public schools in recent years. Fuller said he expects the results to only get better.

“We fully anticipate to continue to rise in the rankings," he said.