City reading, math scores offer mixed message

For the seventh consecutive year, city students improved their scores on state reading and math tests, according to data released this afternoon by the Philadelphia School District.

Still, fewer than half can read at grade level, and only slightly more can perform math at grade level.

In 2008-09, 52 percent of Philadelphia schoolchildren made the grade in math, up 3 percentage points from last year. Forty-eight percent hit the mark in reading, up 2 percentage points.

If the district continues its incremental gains, it would take until 2123 for all students to reach proficiency. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, all students must pass state reading and math tests by 2014.

In Philadelphia, fewer students are performing "below basic," or at the lowest level. Thirty-one percent fall into the lowest group for reading, and 26 percent for math.

The achievement gap between the district's white and Asian students and its black and Latino students continues. In reading, black students scored 22 percentage points lower than their white counterparts, and Latino students fared 25 points under. In math, there's a 20 point gap for black students and a 22 point gap for Latino students.

Overall, girls scored better than boys.

Based on the test scores, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman declared her "empowerment schools" initiative - extra money for the city's most struggling public schools - a success.

But the empowerment gains were relatively small: reading scores increased two points, to 37 percent passing; and math scores went up three points, to 40 percent passing.

Last year, 85 schools were classified as empowerment schools. This year, 10 will be added. The empowerment budget last year was $30 million; officials said they did not know what the budget would be this year, but said it would be more than last year.

Overall, 118 of the district's 267 schools - 44 percent - met state standards, up from 113 the past year. The district hit its peak in that area in 2004, when 160 of 265 schools, or 60 percent, passed.

Officials also released other data, including the district's average daily attendance, which ranged from a high of 92 percent in September to a low of 80 percent in June. The average for the year was 89 percent.

It also revealed that a whopping 42 percent of students had eight or more absences every report period, classifying them as "chronically absent."

The district's four-year graduation rate is 57 percent, up from 53 percent in 2007. At one point, in 2002, it was as low as 44 percent.

Violence was down by 17 percent - there were 5,312 incidents in 2008-09, down from 6,390 in 2007-08.

This year, district parents got to grade their child's school. Thirty-four percent gave the schools a B; 32 percent gave schools an A, 21 percent a C, 8 percent a D, and 5 percent an F.

State education officials said Pennsylvania-wide data won't be released until next month.