Goodnoe Ranked Lowest Among District Schools in New State Reporting System

Editor's note: This story was updated at 9 p.m. Wednesday to include comments from Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education's new reporting system last week released information on the state's public schools and Council Rock's scores ranged from As to a C for Goodnoe Elementary.

Council Rock North, Newtown Middle, Sol Feinstone, Wrightstown Elementary and Maureen M. Welch Elementary schools scored what equates to an A in terms of academic performance, according to the Pennsylvania School Performance Profile.

Most district schools received scores in the B range, however Goodnoe Elementary School, at 79.6, received the lowest ranking of all district schools. 

Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein said the reason for Goodnoe's ranking is due to an anomaly in the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVASS) scores. The ranking "penalized Goodnoe in fifth grade for moving down but still within the Advanced and Proficient range," Klein said.

The scores, based on 100 points, have multiple measures of accountability to provide a comprehensive profile of each school, according to the Pennsylvania School Performance website. The scores are based on academic achievement, academic growth and academic indicators for the district. 

The following are the district's performance profile scores:

Council Rock High School North: 91.5

Council Rock High School South: 86.8

Holland Middle School: 88.5

Newtown Middle School: 90.6

Richboro Middle School: 87.6

Goodnoe Elementary: 79.6

Churchville Elementary School: 81.3

Hillcrest Elementary: 88.2

Holland Elementary: 86.1

Maureen M. Welch Elementary: 93.4

Newtown Elementary: 89.6

Richboro Elementary: 89

Rolling Hills Elementary: 88.8

Sol Feinstone: 90.3

Wrightstown Elementary: 90.3

That score is derived using the following criteria, according to the school performance profile website:

Indicators of Academic Achievement make up 40 percent of the score. This includes the percent of students proficient on PSSA/Keystone Exams in Algebra I, Literature, and Biology for the 2012-2013 school year, the percentage of third-graders reading at Proficient or Advanced on the PSSA, and other competency assessments such as the SAT/ACT.   

Indicators of closing the achievement gap among all students make up 5 percent of this score.

Indicators of closing the achievement gap among historically underperforming students make up 5 percent of this score. Students falling within this category are those receiving special education services, English as a Second Language students and economically disadvantaged students.

Indicators of academic growth through the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System growth index make up 40 percent of the score. This index represents the school’s impact on the academic progress of students from year-to-year, with this year being the first since the SPP is new.                     

Other academic indicators make up 10 percent of the score. These include graduation and promotion rates, attendance rates, Advanced Placement credits and PSAT participation. This calculation is only applied to relevant schools. For example, graduation rates would not be calculated into the formula for elementary schools.

Additional extra credit points were also awarded based on the percentage of students rated “Advanced” on PSSAs and Advanced Placement course achievements. 

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