NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
27 June 2007

HARRISBURG IN TOP 25 SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN STATE IN PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN ANNUAL TEST SCORES

Mayor Stephen R. Reed today released the information that Harrisburg School District ranks 25th of the 498 ranked Pennsylvania School districts in terms of percent improvement in PSSA test scores from 2002 to 2006. (Districts without high schools are not ranked.) These figures were made available today in a report taken from test data of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

“Only four of the 11 empowerment districts in Pennsylvania are out-performing Harrisburg in terms of percent improvement: Duquesne City, Aliquippa, and Chester-Upland – communities with significantly different socioeconomic challenges – and Philadelphia, in which the Commonwealth has made an extraordinary financial investment,” Mayor Reed said.

A report published by the Pittsburgh Business Times on May 23, 2007, ranked Pennsylvania school districts in terms of the percentage of districts’ students placing in the top two categories (advanced and proficient) on the PSSA, averaged over the prior three years, but did not take into account either school districts’ lack of success on the PSSA prior to reform efforts, or poverty levels in their communities. In that report, the wealthiest suburban school districts in the Commonwealth topped the rankings, whereas the poorest rural and urban districts constituted the bottom 30, with Harrisburg coming in last.

“That kind of analysis is meaningless,” said Dr. Gerald W. Kohn, Superintendent of Schools in Harrisburg. “The No Child Left Behind Act measures districts’ performance based on the rate of improvement in performance on the PSSA tests. The Harrisburg District’s rate of improvement reflects progress over the past four to five years, but there remains much more to be done, for sure.”

“We are of course aware that our students have not yet reached the goals required by the Empowerment Act, aspired to by the district administration, and of course expected by the citizenry,” said Mayor Reed. “That’s why we continue to place such a strong emphasis on academic and administrative improvements in the District, reforms that have enabled our graduation and college acceptance rates to climb in these several years.”

Mayor Reed cited the following improvements during Kohn’s tenure:

• Graduation rate up 113 %;

• Number of graduates going on to higher education increased 383 %;

• Enrollment up 39%; and

• Dropout rate down 44%.

“Lasting positive change takes system changes, determination and time, and cannot be accomplished through any quick fixes,” added Mayor Reed. “It also requires patience, constant focus, and the conviction that every student can achieve – not only in the belief of teachers and administration of a district, but also in the families and students who are benefiting from the many reforms put in place.”

For more information on specific district results, contact Lisa Paige at the Harrisburg School District at 717-703-4113 or 717-571-4659.