Student Academic Achievement and Growth Data
Colonial School District schools have achieved very competitive building scores as part of the Educator Effectiveness model and have demonstrated impressive gains on the Future Ready PA Index, the standard by which the state assesses school performance. Information below is based on standardized testing conducted during the 2022-23 school year.
The Future Ready PA Index and building level scores were released in November and take into account school performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS), attendance rates, and graduation rate to determine a school’s score. Here are some highlights:
-
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School attained the 6th highest building score in the state (out of approximately 2,500 high schools)
-
Conshohocken Elementary School and Plymouth Elementary School were in the top 20 elementary schools out of the thousands across Pennsylvania
-
Most schools were in the top quintile of building scores for their respective grade spans
-
Colonial Elementary School exceeded the standard for growth in math, and English/Language Arts (ELA), math, and science achievement scores increased over last year
-
Colonial Middle School exceeded the standards for academic growth in ELA, math and science, and science and math achievement scores increased over last year
-
Ridge Park Elementary School met or exceeded the goal for math achievement
-
Whitemarsh Elementary School met the interim improvement goal/target for ELA, and increased math scores over last year
-
When looked at from the district level, Colonial School District’s proficient and advanced combined scores were higher on average than both the county and state in all three categories of ELA, math and science (see charts on the right)
The Future Ready PA Index is the latest tool used to assess public school performance and incorporates a number of different variables when determining a school building score. It was launched in 2018 and is meant to take a more holistic view of school and student performance when evaluating academic achievement and progress. Schools are evaluated based on their academic achievement in grades K-8 on the Pennsylvania System of State Assessment (PSSA) in the subjects of math and English/Language Arts (ELA), as well as on science in grades 4 and 8. At the high school level, Keystone Exam data is used to evaluate student achievement in the areas of algebra, literature, and biology.
Future Ready PA Index information for both Colonial Middle School and Plymouth Whitemarsh High School was reviewed at the Curriculum Committee meeting held in November 2023. Elementary school data were reviewed at the Curriculum Committee meeting in March 2024 (meeting was delayed due to weather cancellation in January). All schools are using the index data, along with other types of local assessments, to determine strengths, areas of focus, and strategies to ensure that student academic achievement continues to grow.
Data compiled through the index is also used in a calculation to determine school building level scores that are used as part of the Educator Effectiveness tool to evaluate teacher and principal performance.