8th Grade Achievement in Erie County

8th Grade Achievement

Analysis Categories

What does this measure?

The percentage of students considered proficient or advanced on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) Grade 8 English Language Arts and Math exams and reported for the total student population.

Why is this important?

To gauge the success of developing of math and reading skills in students through the public school system. Math is an important foundation for continuing progress in not only math, but also science and related subjects. Reading proficiency is correlated to whether a student will graduate high school.

How is Erie County doing?

Of Erie County's 8thgrade PSSA testing scores among public schools, the students deemed Proficient averaged 21.7% across the schools in Math, up from the previous year's 19.4, whereas Proficient level averaged 42.5% in Reading, but down from 47.8 in 2018. The inverse occurred in the students deemed Advanced level proficiency, up in Reading to 14.6% of all students and down in Math to 8.5%. The apparent decrease in Advanced Proficiency for both subjects which occurred from 2015 onward was a result of that year's newly implemented cut score changes made by the PA State Board of Education. On average the Suburban and Rural schools showed higher Proficient and Advanced test scores overall.

EVS Indicators

EVS analyzes the data in each topic category using indicators, which report a targeted and digestible number, rate, or amount to represent Erie County as a whole. While this does not cover every aspect of the topic, it assists in establishing Erie's performance relative to the prior year(s). The indicators for the Education: 8th Grade Achievement topic are:

 

This indicator measures the percentage of public school 8th graders in Erie County achieving proficient and advanced reading standards. The trend for 8th Graders Achieving Reading Standards is up and better from 2018 to 2019, with a reported increase  of +1.2% within the County.

 

 

This indicator measures the percentage of public school 8th graders in Erie County achieving proficient and advanced mathstandards. The trend for 8th Graders Achieving Math Standards is up and better from 2018 to 2019, with a reported increase of +5.6% within the County.

About this Data

Data from the PA Department of Education as of 12/2020.