SPR FAQs

See below for select FAQs about our School Progress Reports. To view a full version of FAQs, please select the year of interest from the table below.

SPR FAQsSY 2018-2019SY 2017-2018SY 2016-2017SY 2015-2016SY 2014-2015SY 2013-2014SY 2012-2013
FAQs2018-20192017-20182016-20172015-20162014-20152013-20142012-2013

What is the purpose of the School Progress Report (SPR)?

The SPR is a tool produced by the School District of Philadelphia every year.  It provides information on how your school is doing in the areas that matter the most for student success. The SPR also helps us answer the following questions:

  • Which schools are strong in which areas?
  • Where are children achieving at high levels?
  • What areas at each school must change in order to improve outcomes for students?

Which schools receive an SPR?

All eligible School District of Philadelphia schools serving grades K-12 receive an SPR. Schools are considered “eligible” to receive an SPR if they serve at least two grade levels within a grade span (e.g., two high school grades or two elementary school grades).

Eligible Charter schools opt-in to receive an SPR; in SY 2017-18, 99% of eligible Charter schools opted-in and received an SPR.

Alternative education, special education, and virtual schools do not receive an SPR.

Which students count toward a school’s SPR score?

Students count toward a school’s SPR score if they meet the enrollment requirements for each metric as specified in the SPR Business Rules, found here.

A student’s data is only counted toward a school’s SPR score for the time that they were enrolled in that school. For example, if a student is suspended twice at one school, and then transfers to a different school, those suspensions are only counted toward the SPR score for the school where they occurred.

Principals, school leaders, and teachers may be able to see data linked to a student’s previous enrollments in certain data systems; however, this is for information and planning purposes only.

When is the new SPR released each year?

The SPR for the previous school year is typically released to the public in late January/early February. For example, the SPR for SY 2018-19 was released in February 2020.

What are the key areas of focus on the SPR?

The SPR includes five domains: Achievement, Progress, Climate, College & Career, and Educator Effectiveness. Each of these domains include indicators for student success:

  • Achievement focuses on how well students are doing in reading/literature, math, and science. Achievement also includes an indicator of ELL students’ language proficiency
  • Progress focuses on whether students are learning as much as they should from one year to the next in reading/literature, math, and science. For high schools, Progress also includes whether students are on track to graduate.
  • Climate focuses on whether students are attending school regularly and return to the school from year to year. Climate also focuses on whether parents and students are engaged in the school, and how parents and students perceive the school’s climate.
  • College & Career (High School only) focuses on whether students are graduating on time and are prepared to pursue their college and career goals.
  • Educator Effectiveness (Informational only) focuses on whether teachers are receiving strong evaluation results, whether teachers are attending school regularly, and how students feel about the quality of the instruction they receive.

How are Overall SPR scores calculated?

Overall scores are calculated using a weighted allocation from each domain score, which is made up of a sum of specific metric scores. This weighted configuration is as follows:

Elementary, K8, and Middle Schools:

  • Achievement 30% of the overall score
  • Progress 40% of the overall score
  • Climate 30% of the overall score

High Schools:

  • Achievement 30% of the overall score
  • Progress 40% of the overall score
  • Climate 20% of the overall score
  • College & Career 10% of the overall score

The points earned within each domain are added together to determine the overall score out of the points possible. For example, if an elementary school received 23.85 of 30 possible points for Achievement, 6.25 of 40 possible points for Progress and 15.73 of 30 possible points for Climate, their overall score would be:

(23.85 + 6.25 + 15.73) / (30 + 40 + 30) = 45.83 / 100 = 46%

How are SPR metric points calculated?

Schools earn points for SPR metrics based on where they fall relative to a floor and target. The floor is the score that schools must achieve in order to begin earning points for a metric. The target is the score that schools must achieve in order to earn 100% of the points possible for a metric.

Floors and targets were set based on both District goals and the distribution of school performance on individual metrics. Floors and targets may differ across report types; details are available in the appendix of the SPR User Guide.

SPR metric points are calculated according to the following formula:

Metric Points Earned = (Score – Floor) / (Target – Floor) x Points Possible

For example, for High Schools, the floor and target for Zero Out of School Suspensions are 70 and 100, respectively. There are 2.5 points possible on this metric. If 90% of students at a school had Zero Out of School Suspensions, the school would earn:

Points = (90 – 70) / (100 – 90) = 2 / 3
Points = 2 / 3 x 2.5 = 1.65

What is the relationship between scores and the tier a school is placed in?

Tiers are based on the percent of points earned out of the points possible, for a metric, domain, or overall score.

  • A tier of Model indicates that a school has earned at least 75% of possible points;
  • A tier of Reinforce indicates that a school has earned 50-74% of possible points;
  • A tier of Watch indicates that a school has earned 25-49% of possible points; and
  • A tier of Intervene indicates that a school has earned less than 25% of possible points.

What are the minimum and maximum scores on the SPR?

Overall and domain scores are the percentage of possible points earned by a school (i.e., number of points earned divided by the number of possible points). Therefore, the minimum and maximum scores are 0% and 100%, respectively. However, not every school has 100 possible points. For example, a school that is eligible for 95.5 points and earns 42 points receives an overall SPR score of 44% (42.0 / 95.5).

How does the SPR reflect the District’s commitment to equity?

Several components of the SPR indicate the degree to which students, regardless of educational need, are being served equitably by our schools. For example, a credit metric for off-track students and AGI metrics measuring growth for the lowest performing 20% of students emphasize the importance of demonstrating progress among students who may be falling behind. Equity is also reflected in the ACCESS proficiency and growth metrics.

If you have any questions or require additional information regarding the School Progress Report, please contact us at performanceframework@philasd.org.