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Eastern York SD presents PSSA and Keystone results; district seeks curriculum alignment
Summary
District administrators reported PSSA and Keystone proficiency trends, noting post-COVID declines in ELA and math, stronger science scores, and action steps that include adopting Inspire Science and moving to a unified McGraw Hill math program.
Eastern York School District staff reviewed recent PSSA and Keystone assessment results and outlined curriculum actions the district plans to take to address identified gaps.
Doctor Anders, speaking to the board, said the PSSA measures proficiency at a point in time and noted persistent COVID-era drops across several grades. "When you take all the proficiencies grade 3 through 8 in ELA, there was a little bit of a decrease this past year," Anders said, pointing to a district ELA composite that moved from about 62 percent to 56 percent in the most recent year shown.
The presentation highlighted where declines were concentrated. District staff pointed to third-grade proficiency at one school as a specific concern, where the grade cohort contained a high share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals and a high share of students with individualized education programs (IEPs). The presenter said, for that third-grade cohort, roughly 70 percent were free and reduced, 28 percent had IEPs, and proficiency rates for students with IEPs and Title I services were markedly lower.
Math proficiency also showed a small districtwide decline (from about 45 percent to 40 percent), and staff described a range of likely contributors including test blueprint changes, cohort differences, teacher turnover and the increasing complexity of middle-school test items. "As we move up the grade levels, we start to see an increase in some of the difficulty and the multi-step approach," a curriculum presenter said.
Science proficiencies remained a relative strength. The district reported about 74 percent proficiency on science PSSAs, above the statewide average the presenter cited (66 percent). Staff attributed stronger science results in part to focused subject coordination and targeted preparation.
Planned actions: the district listed curricular next steps for instruction and materials. Staff said they are piloting and moving toward a unified elementary math program (McGraw Hill) to create common language across buildings, and they said they hope to adopt Inspire Science for the coming school year to align with revised standards that emphasize phenomena-based inquiry. Staff also emphasized continued use of diagnostic and benchmark assessments, tiered supports, and personalized learning interventions.
Ending: District leaders told the board they will continue to monitor assessment data, report cohort growth measures, and return to the board with progress and implementation details for curriculum adoptions and intervention plans.
