PSBA State of Education 2019; A reflection

     PSBA recently released their annual report, the State of Education 2019. A link to the report can be found at the following link; 
https://www.psba.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/StateofEducation-2019.pdf

A summary:

• ·         According to chief school administrators the single greatest challenge remains funding.
• ·         Principals expect safety and security to be a top challenge.
• ·         Achievement on the keystone exams exceed achievement on the PSSA’s.
• ·         Graduation rates are over 85% and continue to slowly rise.
• ·         Of the 1.7 million public school students, over 1.5 (88%) are educated in one of the Commonwealth’s 500 school districts.
• ·         Most of the Commonwealth (as defined by geography) remains rural.
• ·         Most of the public school students (as defined by population) are educated in the suburbs.
• ·         Only 67,300 (3.7%) of public school students are engaged in CTE.
• ·         PA remains predominantly white (65.7%), with multiracial (14%) and Hispanic (11.5%) comprising significant minority populations.
• ·         Public school students are 51% male. CTE students are 59% male. Females make up a slim majority of 50%+ in brick and mortar charter schools and cyber charter schools.
• ·         16% of the state has an IEP. With 42.7% of those students having a specific learning disability.
• ·         Fewer than ½ of the public school students in the Commonwealth are proficient as measured by 4^th grade PSSAs.
• ·         Around 1/3 of the public school students in the Commonwealth are proficient as measured by the 8^th grade PSSAs.
• ·         Students experience greater rates of proficiency on the Keystone exams as compared to the PSSAs.
• ·         Budget pressures result in increased taxes, reduction in programs, and/or reductions in personnel.
• ·         Suburban districts have greater local sources of revenue than urban or rural districts.

Take-away:

            School districts continue to adjust to the new normal set by the budget cuts of 2011 and the pension assessments of greater than 33%. Most districts rely on the state for the majority of their revenues. Therefore, district programming is greatly affected by the ability of a school district to raise local revenues.

            In today’s climate, safety and security is at the forefront of our decisions. Although our primary goal remains educating the youth of the Commonwealth, Maslow taught us long ago that on the hierarchy of needs, safety comes first.

            Pennsylvania is a rural state as defined by geography and a suburban state as defined by population. These two categories constitute approximately 80% of the Commonwealth’s public school populations. Urban districts tend to be larger on average (over 11,000 each) than suburban or rural schools.

            Achievement remains predictable. Proficiency rates on PSSA exams decline as students progress through their elementary and middle school experiences. The same students who are approximately 1/3 proficient of the grade level PSSA math test are nearly 70% proficient on the Algebra Keystone exam. The natural question becomes fairness. Are the standards expected to be mastered by the grade level PSSAs exceed the rigor and relevance of the learner? This trend of decreasing PSSA scores and a rebound of achievement on the Keystone Exam has held true since the Commonwealth switched to the PA Core in 2015.

            16% of the public school students in Pennsylvania are special needs and have an IEP. Approximately 42.7% of IEP students have a specific learning disability in reading or math but are expected to take grade level tests without accommodation.

            Only 3.7% of public school students are involved in any type of career and technical education. The largest hurdle remains student and parent perception. CTE remains a “lesser” choice as compared to college. As the American skilled workforce ages and retires, fewer potential workers are entering the trades. For the aspiring welders, electricians, carpenters, and other valued trade workers, the opportunity is ripe to take advantage of CTE programs. The demand is massive. Between 3-4 million trade jobs in the United States remain vacant, including over a half million in manufacturing. Job security is strong. Life sustaining wages can be expected including the ability to save for retirement and receive competitive health benefits. Society will always need electricians, mechanics, and other skilled tradesmen. Employers are looking for skilled, educated employees who can get jobs done quicker, better, and with fewer mistakes.

            Pennsylvania’s public schools continue to produce college and career ready citizens. The system has strengths as well as challenges. Financial concerns will not disappear overnight. Mixed achievement results may very well be due to the fairness of the test. More students need to take advantage of CTE, but parents have to remove the stigma of that choice.