Report Cards

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PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL REPORT CARDS 2011

Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

The Pennsylvania School Report Card is designed to inform the public of the quality of each district, school, community, comprehensive career and technology center, and charter school in the following areas: academic performance, school safety and climate, and fiscal responsibility.

1. What is the purpose of the report card?

   The intent of the Pennsylvania School Report Card is to provide one website where the public can read about the quality of individual Pennsylvania districts and schools in terms of academic performance, school safety and climate, and fiscal performance. While much of this data is available on PDE’s website, this one site organizes and summarizes the data in an easy to read format. Assigned letter grades highlight the performance of Pennsylvania’s districts and schools.

2. What is included in the report card?

   There are three components to the Pennsylvania School Report Card: academic performance, school safety and climate, and fiscal responsibility. Additionally Fast Facts provide information on the overall demographics of each educational entity on each component.

3. How will the report card be accessed?

   The Pennsylvania School Report Card will be publicly accessible via the website: http://paschoolreportcards.org/

4. How are district grades calculated? How are school grades calculated?

   Letter grades are based upon formulas for each category:
   
   Data for Academic Performance:
   
   The academic letter grade will include results from PSSA achievement data, PVAAS longitudinal growth data, and data from other academic indicators, as applicable:

   • PSSA achievement data will be represented by:
     • Percent of students proficient or advanced in each of the PSSA subject tests
     • Percent of students advanced in each of the PSSA subject tests
     • Percent of AYP targets met by any of the AYP provisions
   • PVAAS longitudinal growth data will be represented by:
     • Average Growth Index (GI) for each of the PSSA subject tests converted to a 100 point scale
   • Other academic indicators, as applicable, will be represented by:
     • Cohort Graduation Rate
     • Attendance Rate
     • SAT Scores
     • Advanced Placement Participation and Scores
     • International Baccalaureate Participation
     • AYP Trend (made AYP for two consecutive years)
   Data for School Safety and Climate:
   
   The school safety and climate letter grade factors in misconduct data, truancy data, expulsion data, out-of-school suspension data, and persistently dangerous school status.
   
   
   • Misconduct is represented by the frequency of offenses associated with weapon possession, sexual offenses, misconduct against a person/property/society and illegal possession.
   • Truancy is represented by data associated with students who are habitual truants.
   • Expulsions are represented by the frequency of student expulsions.
   • Out-of-School Suspensions are represented by the frequency of student out-of-school suspensions.
   • Persistently Dangerous Schools are represented by the classification of a school as a persistently dangerous school or, for a district, the number of persistently dangerous schools divided by the total number of schools in the district.
   Data for Fiscal Responsibility:
   
   The fiscal responsibility letter grade will include factors that reflect district level financial health.

5. What is the source of the data used in the calculation? Who performs the calculations?

   All data comes from PDE’s authoritative data sources such as PSSA results from Data Recognition Corporation, PVAAS results from SAS, Inc., AP and SAT results from the College Board, and district/school self-reported data for demographics, school safety/climate and fiscal responsibility.
   
   The actual letter grades are calculated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Bureau of Assessment and Accountability, and the Bureau of Teaching and Learning.

6. How frequently are report cards issued?

   The Pennsylvania School Report Card will be released annually each December.

7. What if a school does not have some of the data included in the grading parameters?

   If a school has insufficient data to calculate a representative letter grade, the letter grade display area will reflect that circumstance.
   
   Some districts/schools may not have each data element included within a specific factor area. The calculation of the letter grade is adjusted accordingly; i.e., the calculation only includes the data elements that are possible for a district/school to earn. A common example of this situation is due to the significant number of different school configurations in Pennsylvania. While a grade 6-8 school will have academic performance data in math, reading, science, and writing, a grade 6 only school will only have math and reading performance data. The letter grade will only reflect those subjects tested in the school.

8. How might a district or school use this data?

   Districts/schools can use the information on this website to collectively look at the performance of their local district/schools. They can also compare the performance of a selected school to other schools within a ten mile radius of the boundary of a selected district. Districts can use this information as a streamlined website to communicate the academic performance, school safety and climate, and fiscal performance of their district/schools to their local board and community.

9. How might a parent use this data?

   Parents can use the information on this website to examine the performance of their local district/schools. They can also compare the performance of their school to other schools in Pennsylvania that are within a ten mile radius of the boundary of a selected district.

10. When will the report cards be released to the public? Will districts have a preview window prior to public release?

    The Pennsylvania School Report Card will be released to the public in December 2011. Districts will be provided a four week window to preview the information in order to give them an opportunity to plan for communications to their board and local communities.

11. Who can I contact if I have questions?

    Questions regarding the report card may be directed as follows:

    • General questions about the Pennsylvania School Accountability Standards Report Card System can be directed to: paschoolreportcard@state.pa.us.
    • Specific questions regarding the conceptual design or grade calculation for a district or school can be directed to Michele Sellitto at msellitto@state.pa.us.