Warwick High School’s academic performance score for 2014-15 declined from the previous year, according to the Pennsylvania School Performance Profile scores released by the state Department of Education in November 2015 for each public school offering 11th grade.
From an A to a B
The profile, widely regarded as a report card for schools, assigns a building-level academic score from 0 to 100. Media outlets commonly translate the scores into letter grades, similar to student report cards.
Warwick High School’s 2014-15 score was 89.5, which falls in the B range. The year before, the school scored 96, an A. By that measure, Warwick dropped a full letter grade.
How scores are calculated
The Department of Education builds the score from several factors. The largest are student achievement on state standardized tests, including the Keystone Exams in Algebra I, Literature and Biology, and academic growth measured by the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS), which tracks whether students make expected progress from year to year.
Other indicators include closing achievement gaps for all students and historically underperforming students, graduation and attendance rates, and measures of college and career readiness such as Advanced Placement participation and SAT and ACT performance. Schools can earn extra credit for advanced achievement.
A statewide trend
The 2014-15 scores came during a period of change in Pennsylvania testing. That year, the state introduced tougher PSSA exams aligned with new standards for grades 3 through 8, and scores dropped sharply across the state. Because of that change, many elementary and middle schools did not receive scores that year, but high schools, measured largely on Keystone Exams, did.
Many high schools across Lancaster County and the state also saw their scores move from year to year, as small changes in test results or growth measures can shift a building’s score several points.
What it means
A score of 89.5 still placed Warwick High School among the stronger performers in the region, but the decline drew attention from parents and school board members. District leaders typically review the detailed profile, which breaks down results by subject and student group, to identify areas for improvement.
The details
The full 2014-15 profile for Warwick High School, along with prior years for comparison, was available on the state’s School Performance Profile website, where users could click through tabs for detail on achievement, growth and other indicators.
The end of the SPP
Pennsylvania later replaced the School Performance Profile with the Future Ready PA Index in 2018, a dashboard that reports multiple measures without a single summary score.
How school grades are calculated
Statewide school ratings in Pennsylvania draw on several measures, including standardized test results, academic growth over time, graduation rates and other indicators. Because each measure is weighted, a modest change in one area can move a school’s overall score noticeably from year to year.
That is why educators often caution parents against reading too much into a single year’s number. A change in the test itself, in the group of students tested, or in how the state calculates results can all affect a score without reflecting a real change in classroom quality.
What parents can do
Parents who want a fuller picture can look beyond the headline rating to the detailed results the state publishes, which break performance down by subject and student group. Talking with teachers, attending school board meetings and reviewing the district’s own reports can also help put a rating in context.
Why it matters locally
In Lititz and the surrounding townships, the quality of the Warwick School District is a frequent topic among families and homebuyers. Ratings like these draw attention because they are easy to compare across districts, even when the underlying story is more complicated.
This article was originally published in November 2015.