PENNSYLVANIA Progress varies among schools in Mercer, Lawrence counties

Districts are adding teachers and testing to ensure they meet state standards.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
Fewer than a handful of pupils really can make the difference in whether a school district is deemed making adequate yearly progress -- the standard by which Pennsylvania schools are judged to determine if they are meeting federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
"We had seven students who missed being proficient by one question," said Farrell Superintendent Richard Rubano of the most recent results release by the state last week. "In Farrell, we don't have that many students per grade level, and that put them in the basic category."
Adequate Yearly Progress is the score given by the Pennsylvania Department of Education on standardized math and reading tests for children in grades five, eight and 11.
In addition to overall academic performance, districts are judged on attendance, graduation rates and the performance of specific groups of pupils such as special education and minorities.
Farrell
Overall, the Farrell district, in Mercer County, attained the "Adequate Yearly Progress" rating, but the high school was put on "Improvement II," a designation that means the district is at risk for corrective action by the state if test scores do not improve. The elementary/middle school was put on academic warning -- a midlevel designation that state officials also expect to see improvement.
Rubano said the district is taking the test scores seriously and is adding an intensive tutoring program that is being paid for by a state grant.
"We are putting all of our focus on making adequate yearly progress. We aren't making excuses for anything. We have a new high school principal, and we are already seeing dramatic changes," Rubano said.
New Castle
The same is true for the New Castle Area School District in Lawrence County. Overall, the district was deemed "making progress" but did not meet AYP.
Schools Superintendent George Gabriel said the district made significant gains over the last few years of testing. He credits the change to a new tutoring program as well as an intensive reading program the district instituted a few years ago.
Another new program added this year was summer school to target at-risk pupils, he said.
He said even in the subgroups that did not meet the state standards, there were significant gains over the prior year's test scores.
"I think we have the programs in place now that will enable our students to be successful," he said.
Even if a district appears to be performing well overall on the tests, there could be a small number of pupils who do not meet the state's standard, and that results in the school district receiving a less-than-adequate rating.
Wilmington
In the Wilmington Area School District, the middle school only met six of its eight targets.
Superintendent C. Joyce Nicksick said the school didn't meet AYP because of special-education pupils.
"We are aware that throughout the Commonwealth many special-education students do not perform on grade level because their instruction is at their instructional level as required by law," she said.
Nicksick said the district overall did meet AYP status, but they are looking at tutoring programs as well as participating in a program that tests pupils every nine weeks throughout the school year to identify any deficiencies.
Sharon
Sharon City School District also is using the benchmark testing program to aid in improving its test scores, said Michael Calla, the district's supervisor of curriculum and instruction.
While West Hill Elementary School was recognized as a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School for 2005, an honor only given to 295 schools nationwide for high test scores, the Sharon Junior/Senior High School was deemed making progress.
That designation comes from test scores of the subgroups. Calla said the district is part of a statewide initiative that brought in math and literacy coaches to work with teachers to improve instruction.
"We feel that we made significant progress. Our students and staff have worked hard," Calla said. "It's always difficult when the students who were tested last year are not the students who are tested this year. From year to year the students change, and their backgrounds change."
West Middlesex
Changes made at West Middlesex Area School District should also help improve test scores, said Superintendent Alan Baldarelli.
The district attained AYP status overall, but the junior/senior high school only met five of its six academic targets.
Baldarelli said the district has made curriculum changes, hired a new math teacher and two AmeriCorps workers to act as tutors for the pupils. AmeriCorps is a national training program started in the President Clinton administration.
"I think over the next few years, we will see a big difference," he said.
cioffi@vindy.com