Analysis: William Penn SD shows about half-year relative learning recovery, district staff say
Loading...
Summary
Using the Education Recovery School Scorecard, district staff reported William Penn made relative gains in math and ELA after COVID-19, narrowing pre-pandemic gaps and outperforming similar districts in recovery; staff recommended restoring some roles to sustain gains.
William Penn School District staff presented an analysis Tuesday using the Education Recovery School Scorecard from researchers at Harvard and Stanford and reported the district has narrowed its pre-pandemic achievement gap and achieved about "a half a year" of relative catch-up.
Mr. McArthur said the scorecard compares learning loss and recovery across districts nationwide and that William Penn's supports during and after the COVID-19 pandemic reduced negative impacts compared with the Commonwealth and similar districts. He said that before the pandemic, WPSD was several grade-levels behind nationwide peers in math and ELA but that post-pandemic recovery and in-district supports led to improvements that closed some of that gap.
On math, Mr. McArthur said Pennsylvania students overall were about a third of a grade level ahead of national peers before the pandemic, while WPSD was almost "about 2 and 3 quarters of a grade level behind" national peers. He said WPSD experienced a decline between 2019 and 2022 of about one-third of a school year, compared with nearly three-quarters of a year statewide and in similar districts; subsequent recovery through 2024 and into 2025 narrowed the gap.
On literacy (ELA), the pattern differed but the district showed relatively smaller declines than some peer districts and remains closer to state averages than it was before the pandemic. Mr. McArthur summarized the combined effect as about a half-year of relative catch-up for WPSD students.
Board members asked whether gains depend on COVID-era funding. Mr. McArthur said reductions in coaches and interventionists could slow or reverse gains; he described a budget proposal aligned with the research that recommends restoring some positions and pursuing cost-effective expansions of successful practices such as data-driven instruction, standards-aligned curriculum and peer coaching.
Mr. McArthur cautioned work remains: sustained practices, staff capacity and funding choices will determine whether gains continue. The presentation authors expect a public update to the scorecard in April and district staff said they will monitor updated comparisons when published.
