Despite gains, city schools have work to do, A+ report contends

While notable improvements have been made in reading scores, graduation rates and student discipline, the Pittsburgh Public Schools district has “much more work to do” to improve student math scores and close the persistent achievement gap between white students and students of color.

Educational advocacy and watchdog group A+ Schools highlighted those findings in its annual report to the community Monday, along with school-level data on school climate, racial makeup, teaching and test scores. District superintendent Anthony Hamlet and A+ Schools executive director James Fogarty agreed that there wasn’t anything surprising in the comprehensive report and that there had been some positive

changes. But there are areas in which they said the data need to be explored further and, in the case of math scores, the school district may need to take its case to Harrisburg for clarity on state standards.

“None of this will be breaking news in any way,” Mr. Fogarty said. “But for us we looked at the data more this year and we tried to understand the variability in it. ... Our priority concern remains the persistent gaps in outcomes and access to opportunities by race.”

Among the positive highlights of the report, Mr. Fogarty said, were an increase in the number of third-grade students reading at grade level compared to three years ago; a rise in the number of students — particularly black students — who are graduating from high school; an overall drop in suspensions by 35 percent over the past three years; and a small increase in student enrollment since last year.

But the data also show some trends that concern district officials:

While suspensions are down district-wide and particularly at the elementary level, black students make up 76 percent of the students suspended at least once, making them five times more likely to be suspended than white students.

The district’s high schools for grades 9-12 have the highest rates of chronic absenteeism, with 46 percent of students missing at least two days of school per month. That’s a 5 percent increase since 2016.

Seventy-six percent of students in sixth through eighth grade were not performing at grade level in math based on 2018 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment — or PSSA — scores.

“We know there’s a math problem,” Mr. Fogarty said. “I think the district recognizes there’s a math problem.”

Both he and Mr. Hamlet said poor math outcomes can partially be attributed to the alignment with Common Core and PA Core standards and that districts across Pennsylvania are also struggling. Mr. Hamlet said the district will work with the Pennsylvania Department of Education for clearer instruction on the new standards and how and what students should be taught. He also said he hopes the district’s new math curriculum implemented this school year — aligned with the new standards — will help more students achieve proficiency.

Mr. Fogarty also praised other changes the district has made, including the implementation of a pilot program to screen all secondgrade students for gifted eligibility, and the district’s move to administer the SAT test for all 11th-grade students on a school day each year instead of on a Saturday. The district also administers the PSAT to eighthand 10th-grade students so teachers can help “prepare them early,” Mr. Hamlet said.

Mr. Hamlet said the district is working to streamline its attendance procedures so it can better pinpoint when and why students are absent.

The district has incorporated restorative practices and positive behavioral reinforcement in an effort to reduce disciplinary problems. Last year, the school board approved a ban on any suspensions of students in kindergarten through second grade.

Administrators are trying to eliminate the racial disparities in disciplinary rates by “standardizing” consequences for different code of conduct violations, Mr. Hamlet said. Students who get in a fight, for example, would receive the same discipline no matter their race. Principals also communicate with the assistant superintendent about suspensions to have an added “thought partner” as they consider appropriate consequences for misbehavior.

“We know there is much work to be done,” Mr. Hamlet said. “So celebrate a little, but get back to work. “