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f ox c hapel a r ea s chool d is tr ict | s tat e of t he s chools
Student Achievement
The overall Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) scores for Fox Chapel Area
School District students have risen incrementally during the past five years. The PSSA was first
aligned with the Pennsylvania Common Core Standards in 2015. That same year, the district
began to use a comprehensive benchmarking and response-to-data process for students
in kindergarten through grade 11 in math, English Language Arts (ELA), and science.
Students are assessed several times a year to identify strengths, as well as areas that need
improvement. This data allows teachers to customize student learning opportunities and
guides their planning and instruction. Teachers continue to receive training in the use of data
from benchmark and classroom-based assessments.
Keystone Exams are end-of-course assessments administered in Algebra I, literature, and
biology. Fox Chapel Area students demonstrate high achievement levels on the Keystones
and continue to rank among the top schools in the region and state.
The following pages are an overview of not just the 2019 student achievement results, but a
comparison since 2015.
• The PSSA ELA assessment encompasses reading, writing, and language arts.
• Students in grades three-eight take the ELA and math assessments.
• Students in grades four and eight also take a science assessment.
• Students are rated as Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic based on their
display of grade-level skills. Fox Chapel Area students always score above the
state averages.
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FOX CHAPEL AREA