UASD performing well under new school assessment system
Uniontown Area School District is faring well under the state’s new School Performance Profile (SPP) rating system with results showing that the high school has outperformed the other public high schools in the county.
The state Department of Education recently unveiled the new rating system, which replaces Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) and shows the academic performance and other measures for public schools. SPP also satisfies requirements of Pennsylvania’s federally approved No Child Left Behind waiver which requires an assessment to replace AYP. The federal waiver was approved in August.
Based on scores for the 2012-13 school year, with one exception, schools in the UASD are performing at or above the state benchmarks based on math and reading proficiency for PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) or Keystone Exams, test participation, graduation rate, closing the achievement gap for all students and closing the achievement gap for historically under-performing students.
“The rule of thumb the state has is a score of 70 or above is pretty good. You don’t want to be below 70,” said Deborah Rittenhouse, district curriculum coordinator. “All of our schools were 70 or above, except one.”
Based on a 100-point scale, scores for schools in the district are as follows: A.J. McMullen 81.3; Menallen 80.1; Wharton 77.3; Lafayette Middle 77.1; Ben Franklin 76.7; Uniontown high school 76.5; Marclay 74.3; Franklin 71.2; and Lafayette Elementary 56.4.
Rittenhouse pointed out that Uniontown Area High School’s scores are the highest in the county, followed by Frazier High School with 73.4.
“I’m truly happy, and you should be, too,” Rittenhouse said to school directors. “This is the result of hard work by many students, teachers, building principals, central administration and (literacy) coaches. A job well done.”
Rittenhouse also noted that McMullen is considered a reward or high progress school, performing in the the top 5 percent of Title 1 schools in the state. Lafayette Elementary is considered a focus school, performing in the lowest 10 percent of the state’s public schools receiving Title 1 funds.
There were no schools in the district designated as a priority school or one performing in the lowest 5 percent.
“These designations are used to determine the certain amount of federal funds that will be received,” Rittenhouse said.
Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky lauded the district’s staff and students for the continuing effort and improvement.
“I’m proud of this district and what we have achieved,” he said.
Machesky said students and staff in the district have worked hard and deserve attention and recognition for their efforts. He also noted he hopes the performance improvement results will entice people to consider moving into the area.