Pa. announces boost in student achievement

State officials this afternoon trumpeted Pennsylvania students' growth in standardized test scores at every grade and in both reading and math.

Overall, 72.4 percent of students can read and do math at grade level, up from 71 percent last year and 55 percent in 2002.

"These results continue to show that Pennsylvania is boosting achievement and that we've got tremendous momentum on our side," Gov. Rendell said in a Harrisburg news conference.

Statewide results of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment were released earlier in the summer, ahead of schedule. Officials today released school-level results, available online at http://paayp.emetric.net

Students are tested in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 11th grades. Schools must meet targets in academic performance and test participation.

The timing of the release is crucial. The state budget is still up in the air, and education spending has been a contentious issue.

Senate Republicans have proposed slashing Rendell's education funding by about $300 million.

"The continuing progress of our schools and students is not happening by chance," said Gerald Zahorchak, state education secretary. Adequate funding, Zahorchak said, directly correlates to improved test scores.

Rendell said he hoped the scores would help silence those who want to cut education funding.

"Why would we think for a minute of stopping this progress?" the governor said.

In Philadelphia, student performance improved for the seventh year in a row. But the gains were slight, and fewer than half of city schoolchildren can read at grade level. The numbers were only slightly better for math.

Last year, 48 percent of Philadelphia children made the grade in reading, and 52 percent hit the mark in math.

District officials say they are happy with progress, but frustrated by its slow pace.

If the district continues at its current rate of improvement, it would take until 2123 for all students to reach proficiency, officials said.

The federal No Child Left Behind law calls for all students to perform reading and math at grade level by 2014.