Pine-Richland presents academic achievement and growth report; district posts top scores and flags 7th-grade math growth

Pine-Richland School District administrators presented the district’s annual Academic Achievement and Growth Report at an academic achievement governance meeting on Dec. 9, 2024, saying overall results are strong while identifying specific areas for targeted improvement.

“Tonight is a good news evening,” Dr. Jay Miller, a district administrator who led the presentation, told the board, then outlined the report’s scope and how results will be used to guide instructional work. The district said the 2024 results place many Pine-Richland measures in the top decile statewide and highlighted several high-performing programs while naming middle-school math as an area needing focused attention.

The report covered statewide summative assessments (PSSA and Keystone exams), college-readiness testing (PSAT, SAT, ACT), Advanced Placement participation and outcomes, and subgroup analyses for students with individualized education programs (IEPs) and English-language learners. Pine-Richland reported roughly 4,551 students districtwide as the context for the results.

Why it matters: District leaders framed the report as a tool for continuous improvement. Administrators said lagging assessment results will be used to direct classroom interventions and system-level changes — scheduling, professional learning communities and targeted summer or winter supports — rather than as an end in themselves.

Key findings and next steps

- Keystone literature and districtwide Keystone results: The district said Pine-Richland’s cohort performance on the Keystone literature exam was the highest in Pennsylvania for the reporting year, a result administrators described as “number one” in the state. District leaders said literature proficiency and growth were strong across quintiles, with especially notable gains among both the lowest and highest quintiles.

- Biology Keystone: Pine-Richland reported its biology results as among the highest since at least 2015 and said the district ranked near the top statewide. Administrators highlighted that 50.4% of first-time biology testers were scored at the “advanced” level and that students with IEPs performed at or above the state average (46.7% proficient/advanced for Pine-Richland students with IEPs vs. 46.6% statewide, as cited during the meeting).

- Overall PSSA performance and growth: The district said grades 3–8 ELA and math measures remain generally stable or improving, with Pine-Richland commonly scoring 10–25 percentage points above state averages in many grade-level subjects. Administrators emphasized both achievement (proficiency) and the Pennsylvania value-added growth analyses as complementary checks on performance.

- Advanced Placement and college-readiness: Pine-Richland reported strong AP participation and outcomes: the district said 68% of the 2024 graduating class took at least one AP exam (exceeding the gold benchmark), 54% of that cohort scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam (platinum level), about 500 students took AP exams in 2024 with 1,046 total AP exams administered, and the district projected higher participation for the current school year. Administrators also noted lower ACT participation (46 students in the class of 2024) and recommended using PSAT and other diagnostic data to guide college-readiness instruction.

- Middle-school math growth: Administrators identified 7th-grade math growth as a specific local concern. The presentation described diagnostic STAR benchmark pretesting that showed low mastery in proportions and ratios (pretest results around 37%), followed by post-instruction gains (reported increases to roughly 96% on a unit pre/post measure). District staff said they will continue midyear benchmarking and, if gains do not hold on subsequent assessments, implement reteaching or remediation. The math team also proposed curricular “spiraling” — integrating earlier-grade PSSA-type items into algebra courses — and exploring summer remediation or retake opportunities to improve pass rates on algebra-related Keystone modules.

- Online testing and elementary preparation: Administrators explained the systemwide shift to online testing over the past two to three years and described efforts to prepare younger students for remote assessment tools: converting classroom benchmarks to online formats, providing typing practice and digital-test strategy instruction, coordinating districtwide practice days to check Wi‑Fi and devices, and training proctors. District staff said 3rd grade was the last grade brought online and noted the need for continued supports (scratch paper, digital-tool practice) so students understand online platforms and features such as highlighting or online calculators.

- Special education and English‑learner results: The district highlighted subgroup performance, noting that students with IEPs met or exceeded growth standards in multiple grades and that several special-education cohorts outperformed state averages in key tests (biology example cited above). For English-language learners, administrators said the district uses the ACCESS test for ELD (English language development) monitoring and had recently adopted National Geographic ELD materials aligned to ELD standards; report excerpts shown at the meeting indicated ELL composite scores in grades 1–8 outperformed state averages on ACCESS in the cited period.

- Instructional systems and professional collaboration: Presenters emphasized the district’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), building-level PLCs, ALC (academic leadership council) work and master-schedule adjustments designed to create common planning time and additional collaborative minutes in several buildings. Administrators described an “integration” strategy: identify priority weaknesses from the lag data, test instructional adjustments through PLCs and progress-monitoring, and then scale successful approaches across the K–12 system.

Direct quotes and attribution

Dr. Jay Miller, a district administrator leading the presentation, said: “Tonight is a good news evening,” and described the report as a tool for continuous improvement rather than a final judgment. He added that assessment results “guide back to our staff in the daily work that we do.”

At several points, a district staff member noted special-education results, saying the district was “very excited and proud” of students with IEPs who outperformed statewide averages on a first-time biology test.

Board-level context and questions

Board members asked for clarity on measures and comparisons. Board member Mrs. Rosales asked whether trends seen in third-grade ELA were related to the online transition; administrators replied that cohort composition, instructional alignment and prior-year interventions (K–2 programs) can affect year-to-year patterns and that the district continues to monitor benchmark assessments as the current cohort moves through the grades.

Officials also described the timeline and logistics for potential summer or winter Keystone retakes and said online scoring and faster reporting have made more timely program adjustments possible. Staff said retake participation is a family choice rather than a mandated district requirement, and the district had consulted other high schools that used summer retake windows.

What leaders said they will do next

District presenters described concrete next steps: prioritize and sequence the red-flag areas in the written report, embed those priorities in PLCs and master schedules, continue progress-monitoring with STAR and other interim assessments, refine MTSS supports (tiers 2 and 3), and explore targeted summer retake or remediation options for students who do not reach proficiency in algebra-related content.

Bottom line

Pine-Richland’s administrators framed the Dec. 9 presentation as both a celebration of high achievement and a roadmap for targeted improvements. The district touted statewide-leading results in Keystone literature and strong AP participation, while flagging 7th-grade math growth and the transition to online testing as operational priorities to address in the coming school year.