State Test Scores Up This Year

For kids, it’s an excuse to be able to come to school late, leave early, and get a week or two sans homework. For school administrations, it’s a few crucial weeks tied directly into how much bread they’ll be able to earn in funding based on standardized tests. But, really, the PSSA is in place so that everyone can get an accurate measure on how effective new curriculums and teaching methods are and how many kids are behind the learning curve. This year, more than 77 percent of students scored at or above grade level in math and more than 73 percent did the same for reading on the PSSA. Those figures are up slightly from 2010, but the number of schools that met the state standards decreased. [Inquirer]