Penn-Trafford middle schools claim county lead in building performance results
Trafford Middle School used a flexible grouping approach to teach students last year, helping it to the top overall state performance score — 85.3 — among middle and junior high schools in Westmoreland County.
Penn Middle School, also in Penn-Trafford School District, came in second with a score of 81.1 out of 100.
“At the middle school, our focus is on data analysis and curriculum, using the (student achievement) data to change the instruction or implement best practices,” said Superintendent Matt Harris. “It comes down to the instructional practices of the teachers, who focus on what the kids’ needs are. We have a great support staff and a lot of resources, to work with the students who need extra help.”
Flexible grouping of students to maximize the impact of the math and reading instruction is an important factor for academic success, Harris said.
Previously known as the School Performance Profile, each school’s building-level score is among data used in evaluating teachers and principals under Pennsylvania’s Educator Effectiveness System (Act 82 of 2012).
The score reflects students’ collective achievement on standardized math, language arts and science assessment tests, how well they have advanced academically during the school year, and other factors including school attendance rates.
Here are the county’s middle school rankings, based on 2019 building-level scores:
Visit the state Department of Education website (education.pa.gov) and search “Building Level Score” to see 2019 results for all of Pennsylvania’s 2,850 public, charter and cyber charter schools.
In November 2018, the state Department of Education introduced the alternative Future Ready PA Index. Rather than relying on a single score to summarize the annual performance of a school and its students, it sets forth a series of measurements to gauge academic performance, student progress and college and career readiness at the building level. Visit futurereadypa.org to search the most recent data, from the 2018-19 school year.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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