Test results from last year’s PSSA and Keystone tests, two measures of academic performance across the state, show modest improvement in most areas, but the schools have miles to go to make up for the steep learning loss suffered during the pandemic.

Numbers released by the Department of Education show slight gains in Math and Science for students grades 3-8 with a minor setback in English Language Arts, or ELA. For high school juniors, performance in Biology and Literature hovered near last year’s scores, while improvement was seen in Algebra.

All averages are lower than scores reported in 2019, but elementary and secondary school students appear closer to closing the gap than their high school counterparts who missed out on pivotal classroom time.

“Pennsylvania’s schools are using new, innovative approaches to help their students learn, increasing assessment flexibility for both educators and learners alike,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “I am confident that with each passing year, participation and achievement will continue to improve and give students new ways to chart their own course and succeed.”

Those faced with the legislative task of education reform have a mixed response to the results. Last year, the state completed a series of hearings conducted by the Basic Education Funding Commission to respond to the state Supreme Court’s ruling that the commonwealth’s school system was constitutionally underfunded.

“If we are to expect tangible change in outcomes, we must have transformational change in our system of education,” said Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford. “It is clear unfocused budgetary and legislative education priorities in state government are not benefitting Pennsylvania’s children in the classroom.”

In a statement to The Center Square, last year’s education committee chair Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Allentown, noted that the 2024-2025 budget implemented a billion-dollar investment in education and new rules around adequacy. The test scores reflect proficiency before those changes were implemented across the state.

“We delivered transformational change for every kid in every school – especially the kids in districts that have struggled with standardized testing,” he said. “But we’re far from done. I am confident that so long as we continue on this new path of funding our new adequacy formula and allow for these new guidelines to take root, the growth in literacy scores will rebound.”

Schweyer noted that much of the new funding would be directed toward students in communities that are historically underserved.

Test results across grades and subjects showed profound gaps in proficiency between white and most minority students, gaps far more significant than just those reflecting economically disadvantaged students. English Language Learners and students with special needs requiring Individualized Education Plans were the farthest behind of all cohorts measured.

Many believe that repairing the system is an insurmountable task, even if with increased funding and the legislative mandate to do better.

“Students should be in environments where academic achievement thrives, regardless of their race or ethnicity. The reality is certain, without America taking a hard look at our conflicted history, facing its ugly truths, reconciling our bitter differences, and collectively deciding to overcome our past as we secure our future, we will never accomplish equity amongst equals in education,” said Rev. Joshua C. Robertson, founder and CEO of Black Pastors United for Education, in an email to The Center Square.

For community leaders like Robertson whose institutions often pick up the slack left by public schools, the best solution is school choice. Opportunity scholarships that would allow students in low-performing districts to attend private schools are one suggestion that has received broad support, though many would rather see the money go to public schools than into private pockets.

“Education decisions need to be entrusted to a child’s first educator, which are the parents” Robertson said. “Furthermore, a quality education in America should not be contingent upon one’s zip code – as Americans, we should have the agency to leverage our own tax-dollars to secure the education that a parent desires for their child.”

The state’s lowest-performing schools all showed high numbers of children from historically underserved communities.

While the methods remain an area of contention, the appetite is strong on both sides of the aisle to offer solutions to frustrated families who see their children slipping behind.