On November 28th, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released results from the 2021-2022 school year administration of state-level assessments: the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA), and Keystone Exams. 

PSSA data from the 4th and 8th grades showed proficiency levels down between two and 10 points from 2019 to 2022 in language arts, math, and science. In 4th grade, proficiency in English and language arts was 52.2% compared to 63.3% in 2019. In science, proficiency was 73.7% compared to 77.8% in 2019. Math proficiency showed improvement, increasing to 42.3%. However, that is still below the 46.2% mark set in 2019.

In 8th grade, language arts proficiency was 55.6% compared to 57.9% in 2019. Science proficiency was 51.1% compared to 58.2% in 2019. Math proficiency was 22.6%, which is nearly 10 points below the 32.2% mark set in 2019.

The lower tests scores continue to be an effect of the pandemic.

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