The Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSAs) are standardized state assessments administered to Pennsylvania students in grades 3-8 at the end of each school year. The PSSA English Language Arts (ELA) and PSSA Math are administered to students in grades 3-8, and the PSSA Science is administered to students in grades 4 and 8. Students can score in one of four performance levels: Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic.

At the School District of Philadelphia, PSSA performance is the focus for three of the five goals adopted by the Board of Education. This data brief describes District-wide trends in PSSA performance between the 2018-19 (pre-Covid) and 2022-23 school years.

Key findings include:

• 34.0% of students in grades 3-8 scored Proficient or Advanced on the 2022-23 PSSA ELA compared to 34.4% in 2021-22 and 35.7% in 2018-19.
• 20.7% of students in grades 3-8 scored Proficient or Advanced on the 2022-23 PSSA Math compared to 16.5% in 2021-22 and 21.6% in 2018-19.
• 40.2% of students in grades 4 and 8 scored Proficient or Advanced on the 2022-23 PSSA Science compared to 37.1% in 2021-22 and 40.0% in 2018-19.