Most Luzerne County schools miss the mark in state tests

By at least two measures, most Luzerne County public schools fared poorly in state standardized test results released Monday.

The state released data combining Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests in grade 1 through 8 and the Keystone exams given in several subjects in high school. While most elementary schools would only have PSSA scores, middle and junior/senior high schools could have some of both, depending on school configuration.

The Times Leader looked at the percentage of students scoring proficient or better in three subjects: English Language Arts (formerly called reading), math/algebra I (which test students take depends on their grade level) and science/biology (also dependent on grade level).

Comparing school results in all three subjects to the state average, Luzerne County Schools did most poorly in math/algebra. Of the 48 schools where the tests were administered, only 10 exceeded the state average of 35.7% proficient or better. Northwest Intermediate had 38.2%, while the Dallas High School and Intermediate School were the top two in the subjects, with 77.5% and 72.2% respectively.

County schools did slightly better in English Language Arts, with 11 schools topping the state rate of 54.1%, ranging from 54.8% at Lake-Noxen in Lake-Lehman School District to 74.6% at Dallas Intermediate School.

The best local results were in science/biology tests. Because the PSSA science tests are given in fewer grades than ELA or math, fewer local schools — 45 — administered the tests. Of those, 17 exceeded the state rate of 54.4%, ranging from 54.9% at Dallas High School to 93.5% at Crestwood’s Rice Elementary.

The state looks at more than raw scores, setting “interim goals/improvement targets” for each school. A school can have a low percentage of students scoring proficient or better but still meet or exceed those goals compared to the prior year. The state reports whether “all student groups” meet or don’t meet that goal, whether they meet the statewide 2030 goal for percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced in each test group.

Of the 48 schools reporting ELA results, only four schools met the interim goals/improvement targets: Crestwood Secondary Campus, Dallas Intermediate School, Greater Nanticoke Area Education Center, and Hanover Area’s Lyndwood.

Of 48 local schools reporting math/algebra results, Lyndwood met the interim/growth goal, while two met the statewide 2030 goal: Dallas high School and Dallas Intermediate School.

Of the 45 schools with science/biology results, four met interim/growth goals: Dana Street in Wyoming Valley West, Northwest Area Intermediate, and Ross and Lehman-Jackson in Lake-Lehman School District. Another four hit the statewide 2030 goal: Lake-Noxen in Lake-Lehman, Dallas Intermediate, and Rice and Fairview in Crestwood.

The state posted the results on the searchable Pennsylvania Future Ready Index site, futurereadypa.org. In announcing the release of the results from the 2021-22 assessments, Acting Secretary of Education urged some caution in interpreting the results, thanks to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down schools statewide in March of 2020.

“Like states across the nation, we are not yet seeing test results at pre-pandemic levels. However, student performance is generally improving year-over-year and schools across Pennsylvania are working overtime to accelerate learning and meet students where they are at as we emerge from the pandemic,” Hagarty said in a media release.

“We know that assessments show point-in-time data that does not reflect the full scope of learning happening in classrooms across the commonwealth, and we expect student performance will continue to improve as students and educators proceed with a more normalized, uninterrupted year of in-person learning.”