Hatboro‑Horsham presents assessment results: district above state averages but a steep dip in fifth‑grade ELA

Assistant Superintendent Ted Domers and Dr. David Weber presented the district’s comprehensive‑plan progress and 2025 assessment results at the Hatboro‑Horsham School District Board meeting on Dec. 15, 2025.

Domers said the district’s three focal areas — increasing student achievement and growth, developing welcoming schools and positioning students for postsecondary success — continue to guide work across the district’s six schools. "Students remain at the center of our strategic initiatives," he said.

Dr. David Weber reviewed statewide and local trends, telling the board that statewide PSSA math scores have improved since tests resumed in 2021 while statewide ELA scores have declined. "There’s a pronounced drop at grade 5," he said, adding that last year represented the only post‑2015 year when every grade statewide fell year‑over‑year in ELA. He cautioned that cause is unclear and noted multiple possible contributors, including shifts to online testing and longer‑term trends.

Weber and Domers emphasized the district’s approach to measuring both achievement (proficiency levels on PSSAs and Keystones) and growth (a value‑added measure). Domers explained the district will present cohort‑based scatterplots to show achievement (x axis) and growth (y axis), so the board can see which cohorts are in the top‑right quadrant — indicating both above‑average achievement and above‑expected growth.

Locally, presenters said Hatboro‑Horsham ‘‘exceeded the state average on all six PSSA exams’’ for district cohorts and that several cohorts outperformed the state by more than 10 percentage points. The district reported strong Keystone results: the high school exceeded the state average in algebra I, literature and biology; the algebra I cohort showed three consecutive years of well‑above growth and literature achievement rose roughly 11 percentage points.

At the same time, presenters highlighted a local weakness that mirrors the statewide pattern: the recent fifth‑grade cohort showed a sharp drop in ELA proficiency and below‑expected growth in fifth‑grade math in some cohorts (presenters cited approximately 45% proficiency on fifth‑grade math for that group). Domers said that discrepancy — declining achievement paired with some measures of meeting or exceeding growth expectations — reflects differences in measurement and cohort baselines.

The administrators credited professional learning communities (PLCs), targeted interventions (including a pilot assessment called Firefly) and a district‑wide emphasis on structured literacy for positive trends. "This intentional and focused work in the PLC enables our teachers to adapt their instruction in a more responsive way," Domers said. He described ongoing teacher focus groups and efforts to provide easily accessible data so teachers spend less time gathering information and more time responding to student needs.

Board members commended the work and asked about PLC adoption and teacher buy‑in; Domers said the administration is conducting school‑level focus groups to solicit teacher feedback and refine supports. One board member praised biology, literature and algebra I PLC groups specifically for their strong Keystone gains.

The presentation concluded with administrators outlining next steps: continued use of cohort scatterplots, scaling structured literacy across grades, and further PLC expansion. The board opened the meeting’s business agenda after questions and comments.