Pittburgh Post-Gazette December 11, 2006

HEADLINE: Report from A+ Schools unveiled

By Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Victor Papale, executive director of A+ Schools, wants people to talk.

The education watchdog group tomorrow is issuing its second annual report to the community on progress in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

It's up to the reader to determine what progress has been made, but the document pulls together data on individual schools, including charter schools in the city.

"What we're trying to do is stimulate a public discussion about the key issues. At this stage, we're trying to be as neutral as we can," said Mr. Papale. "It's meant to be a resource for the many constituencies that are involved in public education in Pittsburgh."

The printed report doesn't include schools that were closed this fall or the eight that were turned into accelerated learning academies. The district's other schools -- including those which had significant changes in who was assigned to them this fall -- are included.

For each school included, there are data comparing reading and math scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests in 2003 through 2006. The report also includes some other information, such as the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

It notes some strengths and weaknesses in each school.

For example, the report states that Dilworth Traditional Academy for the Arts and Humanities, an elementary school, has high fifth-grade reading scores for low-income and black students, but its overall fifth-grade math and reading scores decreased from 2003 to 2006 and its fifth-grade math scores are low for white students.

For Arsenal Middle School, it lists eighth-grade math scores near the district average for low-income, black and white students but low eighth-grade reading scores overall and for low-income, black and white students.

For Brashear High School, a strength was an increase in average SAT scores, and a weakness was a decrease in overall 11th-grade PSSA reading scores and low 11th-grade reading scores for black students.

It includes scores and some other information for charter schools but does not highlight particular strengths or challenges for them.

A copy of the report will be available in most copies of tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette distributed in the city of Pittsburgh. A more detailed report will be put on the group's Web site, www.aplusschools.org.