Schuylkill Valley board reviews declining test scores, teachers ask for more training and shared assessments

Schuylkill Valley School District officials presented historical achievement and growth figures on Feb. 2 and acknowledged areas of concern while pointing to recent curriculum changes intended to reverse downward trends.

The district’s data presenter reviewed PSSA and Keystone results and PVAAS (value‑added) growth measures, saying 45.9% of elementary students were proficient or advanced in reading last school year (state average cited in the presentation: 49.9%), and that middle‑school and high‑school subsets showed variable results. The presenter said growth measures use individual projections and color‑coded building indicators (green/blue/red). She also noted that Keystone reporting lags and that several test years were affected by recent changes in state standards and test administration.

Teacher feedback emerged as a central thread. A district survey of teachers (Jan. 12–26) drew responses from roughly 54% of language‑arts, 51% of math and 37% of science teachers. The most frequent requests were for sustained professional development tied to the new materials, clearer benchmark and diagnostic assessments (district staff cited STAR, CDT, DIBELS and Firefly as possible complements), and more time for grade‑level collaboration. Teachers said they often had to create missing assessments or supplementary materials themselves.

Board members pressed for more detail about what the PVAAS growth numbers actually mean at the student‑group level — for example, whether below‑basic students are the ones making the reported growth — and asked staff to produce disaggregated subgroup and cohort analyses at the next meeting. The presenter agreed to compile more granular data and to add breakdowns that show which student groups are contributing to year‑over‑year growth.

Administrators tied the data to the district’s recent curriculum refresh: the district adopted new materials for math and language arts in the last two years, and officials said implementation takes time. They noted the state’s structured‑literacy emphasis and said American Reading Company (ARC) in its newer edition appears on the state’s core list, though other screener lists had not yet been released.

The board also discussed practical steps: scheduling additional, grade‑specific professional learning; piloting common benchmarks (staff said they plan to add Firefly and expand CDT usage next year); and exploring expanded dual‑enrollment and scheduling flexibility so students can access advanced courses without being forced into a rigid year‑by‑year sequence.

What’s next: the board set a curriculum workshop for follow‑up and asked administration to return with subgroup growth data and a plan for additional benchmark implementation and targeted professional learning.

Representative quote: “We need some more common assessments. Without that, this data I presented is only based on those standardized tests,” the presenter said, noting plans to add Firefly and broader CDT usage.