Delaware Valley academic review emphasizes growth metrics, flags middle-school math and ELA for attention

Dr. Blom presented the district's annual academic review at the Delaware Valley School District work session, outlining how local curriculum, common assessments and state sources inform planning for improvement. The presentation described the district’s approach to data—LinkIt, eMetric and PBOS—and compared Delaware Valley to neighboring intermediate units and statewide peer districts.

The presentation highlighted growth as a central metric. “It’s not teaching to the test,” Dr. Blom said, describing the district’s focus on standards and year‑to‑year student growth as measured in PBOS and the Future Ready PA Index. He cited several indicators of progress: a jump in building scores for some elementary schools (for example, DDES was reported to move from 69 to 81 over three years) and strong high‑school growth between eighth and tenth grade as reflected in Keystone/ELA metrics. Dr. Blom also noted AP outcomes improved: last year 84% of students passed the AP exams; this year the district reported 88% passing and a 7 percentage‑point increase in students testing.

The nut graf: the district presented evidence of meaningful gains in some elementary and high‑school measures while also identifying recurring gaps—particularly in middle‑school mathematics and middle‑grade ELA—that it plans to address through curriculum rewrites, targeted resources and professional development. Dr. Blom said the district takes a multi‑pronged approach—curriculum, common assessments and grade‑book review—and uses cohort and five‑year trend reports to avoid overreacting to single‑year variance.

Board members asked clarifying questions about curricular sequencing and the new Pennsylvania structured‑literacy requirements; Dr. Blom said the district is aligning rewrites and professional learning with state changes. He also acknowledged state reporting errors had affected a graduation‑rate submission and said the district has engaged state officials to correct the record. The presentation ended with an offer to post the detailed annual report and data binders on the district website for public review.

The district plans follow-up work: curricular revisions across many courses (Dr. Blom noted 54 curricula revisions this year), early implementation of a mandated half‑credit personal finance course for incoming freshmen, and continued emphasis on differentiation to support students across performance quintiles. The board did not take formal action at the meeting; staff invited further review and questions at upcoming sessions.