IN Peters Township February/March 2020 | Page 70

PETERS TOWNSHIP TOPS THE KEYSTONE RANKINGS IN PA W e are excited to announce that for 2019, the Peters Township School District ranked #1* in the State in Keystone Exams, percent proficient/advanced all grades/all subjects combined. The District also ranked #3 in the State for PSSA Exams, percent proficient/advanced all grades/all subjects combined. The rankings include the 781 districts and charter schools in the Commonwealth. To announce the good news and celebrate the #1 Ranking for the Keystones, members of the District Administration visited the High School and Middle School to surprise staff with donuts courtesy of Washington Financial. “We are grateful to our staff across all grade levels for their commitment to the success of our children, and to the parents in our community who send us children ready to learn and support our efforts in so many ways,” said Dr. Jeannine French, Superintendent of Schools. The Keystone Exams are the end-of-course assessments from the Pennsylvania Department of Education designed to assess proficiency in the subject areas of Algebra I, Literature, and Biology. The exams help districts across the state determine how students are progressing toward meeting state standards. The annual Pennsylvania System School Assessment (PSSA) is a standards-based assessment which provides students, parents, educators with an understanding of student and school performance related to the attainment of proficiency of the academic standards. Every Pennsylvania student in grades 3 through 8 is assessed in English/Language Arts and Math, and students in grades 4 and 8 are also assessed in science. “We know that these exams only tell part of the success story for our students and staff,” adds Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Murphy. “It is important to stop and celebrate the hard work going on in our classrooms everyday – our entire staff plays a role in these achievements.” 68 PETERS TOWNSHIP Keystone Exam State Rankings Overall Keystones Keystone Literature Keystone Algebra Keystone Biology 1* 4** 1*** 1 Source: Eidex PSSA State Rankings by Subject/Grade All Grades/Subjects Combined Grade 3: All Subjects Combined Grade 3: Math Grade 3: ELA Grade 6: All Subjects Combined Grade 6: Math Grade 6: ELA Grade 7: All Subjects Combined Grade 7: Math Grade 7: ELA Grade 8: All Subjects Combined Grade 8: Math Grade 8: ELA 3 1 3 3 3 3 6 2 1 6 5 5 9 Source: Eidex *In the overall Keystone rankings, Peters Township is tied for first place with New Hope-Solebury School District. ** In the Keystone ELA rankings, Peters Township is tied for fourth place with three other districts in the state. *** In the Keystone Math rankings, Peters Township is tied for first place with two other districts in the state.