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Wallenpaupack Rises to the Top
Blue Heron Woods—06/24/2008—Wallenpaupack Rises to the Top
BY JESSICA D. MATTHEWS
06/29/2003
Only one of 37 public school districts in the seven-county area of Northeastern Pennsylvania met all seven statistical analyses conducted by Times-Shamrock newspapers to measure academic achievement.
In this year's edition of Grading Our Schools, the newspapers' third annual in-depth analysis, Wallenpaupack Area in Wayne County ranked at the top of a list that also includes schools in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties.
"We're very happy with the improvements we've made," Wallenpaupack Area Superintendent Michael Silsby said when informed of the results of this year's study. "It's been a great team effort."
Districts that performed well do not necessarily have the highest scores. They simply give the best educational bang for their buck.
Seven districts -- Old Forge, in Lackawanna County; Greater Nanticoke Area, in Luzerne County; East Stroudsburg Area, Pleasant Valley and Pocono Mountain, all in Monroe County; and Elk Lake and Mountain View, both in Susquehanna County -- were the only ones to fail all seven analyses.
"We are trying to improve," says Old Forge Superintendent Gene Camoni, Ed.D. "We have initiated many new programs that we believe will help."
Old Forge also failed last year's analyses.
"Change doesn't happen overnight," Dr. Camoni says. "That's an important message. We know we have to improve and we've put the wheels in motion."
Districts were also given grades and ranked statewide. Separate analyses were also conducted on individual schools to gauge their performance.
To conduct the analysis, the newspapers created a database of dozens of educational factors that drive test scores in 500 school districts throughout the state and used it to predict standardized test scores for fifth-, eighth- and 11th-grade reading and math.
The predicted scores from the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and SAT tests, which were tailored for each district and school based on their resources and student/school demographics, were then compared with districts' actual scores in the most recent testing.
Of the 10 Lackawanna districts, four -- Abington Heights, Carbondale, Dunmore and Scranton -- received high grades for meeting or surpassing predicted scores in the seven test areas.
Educators at districts that did not fare well in the analyses said they are aware of the areas in need of improvement. Detailed plans are in place to boost test scores, they said. Those plans include more tutoring and class time for struggling students, curriculum overhauls, and increased training and staff development programs for teachers.
About half the Lackawanna districts showed improvement over last year's analyses.
"We're very pleased with the progress we've made," said Dunmore School Board President John Summa. Dunmore was one of the most improved districts, making great strides in this year's analyses.
While test scores are just one tool to gauge school performance, local educators agree "high-stakes testing" -- where one test, like the PSSA, is used to measure success -- has hit Northeastern Pennsylvania, along with the rest of the commonwealth. The PSSAs are also used to ensure schools meet the new and stringent requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The law calls for all test takers to perform at least proficiently on the PSSAs.
For many districts, the path to proficiency is long. Many districts still have more than half of students scoring well below proficient levels on the math and reading PSSAs.
"One of the problems with high-stakes testing is that you're taking a snapshot on a given day," said Scranton Superintendent John R. Williams, Ed.D. "From year to year, a different population is taking the PSSAs and you're trying to compare that to the year before."
Teachers may also have a tendency to focus just on teaching materials that will be asked on the PSSAs, he said.
"There's always the danger with high-stakes testing that you end up with minimum competency," Dr. Williams said. "We're trying to focus on standards rather than teaching to the test."
Other factors, such as high percentages of limited English-speaking students and transient rates, can also cause test scores to drop, he says. Scranton has one of the highest percentages of limited English-speaking students in the seven-county region.
Despite the challenges facing the district, two elementary schools -- Charles Sumner and John J. Audubon -- ranked in the top 10 of 1,532 schools statewide on fifth-grade PSSA tests, Times-Shamrock's analyses revealed.
Another obstacle facing districts is getting older students to take standardized tests seriously, said Mid Valley Superintendent Joseph Crotti, Ed.D. Mid Valley showed improvements in this year's analyses.
"Maybe if we could get colleges and employers to take PSSA scores seriously like they do SAT scores, kids at the higher grade levels would take the tests more seriously," he said. "Right now, the kids don't see the purpose of the tests."
State educators have tried to address this problem by giving students who score high on the PSSAs a special certificate at graduation.
Local educators question whether this is incentive enough.
In other counties, performance varied, the analyses revealed.
For example, in Monroe County, three of the four districts failed. Educators said high percentages of students coming and going in their districts hurt their test scores. Those districts have high transient student rates.
In Luzerne, most of the 11 districts in the county fared well on the analyses. Three -- Dallas, Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Area -- emerged as top performers, meeting or exceeding six of the seven predicted PSSA and SAT scores.
"We've put a tremendous amount of work in the PSSAs," said Wilkes-Barre Area Superintendent Jeffrey Namey, Ed.D. "We're very proud of our scores. Some schools need to improve a little. We're working hard."
Wyoming Area Assistant Superintendent Frank Casarella, Ed.D., said his district carefully assesses test scores to see where weaknesses are. Teachers work closely with students scoring at basic and below basic levels to improve their performance, he adds.
"We take a multifaceted approach," he said. "We understand what needs to be taught. We're not teaching to the test. We're teaching the skills that are required."
Several individual schools in Luzerne excelled.
Elmer J. Meyers Junior High School, in Wilkes-Barre, was among the top-ranked schools statewide on the eighth- and 11-grade math and reading PSSAs.
Two Hazleton Area elementary schools -- Hazle and Drums -- were ranked in the top 10 statewide on the fifth-grade math PSSA. The schools have consistently produced high PSSA scores.
Complete results of how districts and schools fared in the analyses are located in the S section of today's newspaper. This year's Grading Our Schools section also provides numerous charts on school, student and teacher demographics, as well as stories about education in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
©The Times-Tribune 2008
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