Originally published in the Delaware Valley Journal
Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released statewide scores from spring’s Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams. The results are damning.
A mere 22 percent of Pennsylvania eighth-grade students achieve proficiency or better in mathematics, while only 56 percent did so in language arts. Fourth-grade students did not fare much better, with 52 percent proficient in language arts and 42 percent proficient in mathematics. Proficiency rates across both grades and both subjects have declined from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
It’s unacceptable that our education system fails to teach students basic reading and math. The PSSA data is just the latest evidence that students are struggling to recover from the haphazard and prolonged shutdown of public schools during COVID-19.
Read more in the Delaware Valley Journal
Originally published by Commonwealth Foundation. Republished with permission.