District Equity Dashboard

The Wissahickon School District is pleased to present the Equity Dashboard, a data-driven and transparent look at sixteen key equity and achievement measures that form the basis of our continued commitment for two areas of focus.

To identify and frame any and all gaps that may exist in our district; and
To work hard to close those gaps to the best of our ability.

Background

Prior to this dashboard, the district measured these indicators annually. Then, it was reported out to the Board and public as an annual report in January each year. Below, there is an archive of the previous years' presentations dating back to January 2017. Now, this dashboard is updated periodically throughout each school year as new data becomes available. Also, there are quarterly reports shared at public board meetings throughout the school year that focus on a closer look at a few indicators in order to keep the spotlight on both equity and achievement - and in turn, opportunity.

Driving Force
Gaps in specific equity and/or achievement measures combine to create a bigger, broader and more comprehensive Opportunity Gap that can have lifelong adverse impact on students. Our goal is to identify, measure, and work to eliminate all of these gaps resulting in equal opportunity for each and every Wissahickon Student.

Main Menu

On each webpage, there is an explanation of the data and what is presented as well as a reason for why we measure and monitor this indicator on the dashboard. Lastly, each indicator has a detailed action plan to demonstrate the ways in which our district and schools are working to close these opportunity gaps for each and every Wissahickon student. It is our intent that the Wissahickon community will find this dashboard easy-to-use, informative, and insightful. All data presented for each indicator are updated once per school year. There is a timestamp on each webpage to show the latest update to this information.

Below, click on the items listed below to learn more about each indicator and view the associated data and action plans.

Navigation

Equity Indicators

Achievement Indicators

Key Terms and Concepts

Click on the drop-down arrows for each key term to learn more about these equity and achievement indicators on this dashboard.

Advanced Placement Enrollment

This concept examines student enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses during their high school experience.

Wissahickon High School currently offers 24 AP courses (core and elective) as part of its Program of Studies. Advanced Placement courses are College-Board approved and offer many opportunities, such as, but not limited to:

Offering high school students access to courses that can qualify for college credit upon passing the AP Exam.
Qualifying a student to take more advanced classes while at college.
Providing an introductory college experience.

Belongingness

Gifted Enrollment

This concept examines our population of students identified for the gifted enrichment program in grades K-12. To be eligible for participation in the gifted enrichment program, multiple data sources, including but not limited to, cognitive data, academic data, rate of retention and acquisition, and local norm-referenced assessments, are considered. The multi-criteria data provides different pathways to be identified as gifted.

Grade Point Average in Grade 11

Grade Point Average (GPA) in Grade 11

This concept examines the percentage of students who earn an unweighted grade point average of at least a 3.0 at the end of eleventh grade.

The unweighted GPA is calculated by dividing the number of grade points by the total grade points, which are determined based on the percent grade earned in each course taken in grade 11. Unweighted GPA stands relative to a 4.0, which does not factor in course levels, such as honors and Advanced Placement.

Growth in Grades 3-5

Honor Roll in Grade 8

This concept examines which students enrolled in eighth grade have met the honor roll grade criteria in at least two of the four marking periods during the school year. The honor roll criteria are met if a student’s marking period grades include no C’s or below, at least one A, and only Satisfactory or Outstanding ratings in non-core subjects, such as Unified Arts.

Keystone Proficiency, Grade 10

Keystone Proficiency in Grade 10

This concept examines which students have scored Proficient or better on the Keystone Literature and Algebra I exams. The Keystone Exam standardized tests are one way to gain insights into students’ level of overall academic achievement in high school. The Keystone Exams are designed to help school districts guide all students toward meeting state standards within the tested subject areas. The Keystone Exams are one of the measures of accountability used to assess student progress and school performance across the Commonwealth.

The Keystone Exams are end-of-course assessments designed to assess proficiency in the subject areas of Algebra 1, Literature, and Biology. They serve a dual purpose of meeting federal accountability regulations and are one component of Pennsylvania’s statewide high school graduation requirement. Students first participate in a Keystone Exam when enrolled in a Keystone-related course that is aligned to the Keystone subject area standards. The Language/Literature/Writing course taken in Grade 10 is the related course for Wissahickon students to take the Keystone Literature Exam in May of that school year. Wissahickon students enrolled in Algebra 1 participate in the Keystone Algebra 1 Exam in May of that school year. Students are enrolled in Algebra 1 as early as seventh grade. Students who do not achieve an Advanced or Proficient score during the first administration of a Keystone Exam may retake the exam in subsequent years in an effort to pass the exam. The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) reports Keystone Exam performance data on best scores attained by the end of eleventh grade.

Kindergarten Readiness

This concept examines data collected from our incoming Kindergarten students to identify the extent to which they are “ready” for kindergarten, as determined by a score of 100 or above on our locally developed “Kindergarten Readiness” screening tool. This screening tool is administered to incoming Kindergarteners in the spring prior to their Kindergarten year. The screening tool is a brief assessment of developmental domains, such as letter and number recognition, shapes, and phonetic awareness.

Mastery of Math Facts, Grade 4

Preschool Attendance

PSSA Proficiency, Grade 5

PSSA Proficiency in Grade 5

This concept examines our students’ performance on both the English Language Arts (ELA) and Math sections of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in fifth grade, annually in the spring of each school year. For the purposes of this indicator, we measure how many of our students receive a score of Advanced or Proficient in each of these two sections of the PSSA.

These standardized assessments are required of all students by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and assess students in a wide range of ELA and math topics aligned to the state’s fifth grade curriculum standards in both subject areas. Students can receive a score of Advanced, Proficient, Basic, or Below Basic on the assessments. Results are shared with students, families, and teachers when released by PDE in the fall of the following school year. These broad-based, lengthy, state-required standardized assessments are much different from our local, brief assessments. As a result, these state assessments are more summative in nature. Summative assessments are used to ascertain what students have learned over a period of time rather than used to develop instruction to meet more short-term needs for students' needs, as is done with formative assessments.

PSSA Proficiency, Grade 7

PSSA Proficiency in Grade 7

This concept examines the extent to which students in seventh grade achieve an advanced or proficient score on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in the subject of English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics.

The PSSA is one way to gain insight into students’ overall academic achievement relative to state standards at the middle school level. The PSSA is one of the measures of accountability used by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to assess student progress and school performance across the Commonwealth. PSSA scores provide schools with information that may inform the need for curriculum and instruction alignment and planning as well as additional educational opportunities for students. The ELA PSSA is a standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment that measures proficiency in the core academic standards of literacy at the respective grade level. The Math PSSA is a standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment which measures proficiency in the core academic standards of mathematics at the respective grade level.

The ELA standards identify what a student should know and can do in the areas of reading and writing within a respective grade level by the end of the school year. The Math standards identify what a student should know and can do in the areas of numbers and operations, algebraic concepts, geometry, statistics and probability, and problem-solving within a respective grade level by the end of the school year. Additionally, the Grade 7 Math PSSA data, in particular, is reported separately as an early indicator of success. This on-track measure reflects research on the relationship between student knowledge and skills in grade 7 math and future academic success.

Reading on Grade Level, Grade 3

Reading on Grade Level in Grade 3

This concept examines which of our third graders are reading on grade level. To be considered on grade level, a student must achieve a 'green' score on the DIBELS Next Composite assessment AND a score of 196 or higher on the MAP reading assessment. These two assessments are widely recognized in the field as reliable indicators of reading progress, and both are used in order to be sure we include both decoding and comprehension skills, which are essential ingredients to a student being able to read with confidence and enjoyment.

Special Education Enrollment

This concept examines our population of students receiving special education services. Eligibility for special education is guided by the federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A student is found eligible using a multi-criterion of data including, but not limited to, cognitive data, academic data, behavior data, social-emotional learning data, and teacher and parent/guardian/caretaker input.

Student Discipline

Staffing Composition

This concept examines the district's racial/ethnic composition of staff, including certificated administrators, all other certificated staff, and non-certificated staff.

A certificated employee means any person employed by the district in a teaching, instructional, supervisory, educational administrative, or educational capacity (teacher, supervisor, administrator, educational specialist, school nurse, librarian, etc.).