Pennsylvania PSSA and Keystone Exam Results by Student Demographics

City of Philadelphia provides Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and Keystone exam performance files. The data includes results for grades 3-8 and 11 in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science, broken down by student demographics. It contains both actual performance and accountability-adjusted performance calculations.

Use Cases

• Analyze performance gaps in English Language Arts scores across Ethnicity, English Language Learner (ELL) status, and Economically Disadvantaged status subgroups.
• Compare Mathematics exam results between Gender and Special Education (IEP) status categories to identify equity trends.
• Track Science and Keystone Biology assessment outcomes over time for All Students and specific demographic cohorts.
• Model accountability performance versus actual performance for Algebra I and Literature Keystone exams by student subgroup.

Strengths

• Data covers multiple grade levels (3-8 and 11) and three core subjects (ELA, Mathematics, Science).
• Includes results for three specific Keystone end-of-course assessments (Algebra I, Biology, Literature).
• Performance is disaggregated by six demographic and programmatic subgroups (Gender, Ethnicity, ELL, IEP, Economically Disadvantaged, All Students).
• Provides two distinct performance calculations: actual student levels and accountability-adjusted levels.

Limitations

• Unknown total number of rows, columns, and file size limits analytical planning.
• Data scope is limited to Pennsylvania and primarily the City of Philadelphia's reporting.
• Potential complexity in reconciling differences between actual and accountability performance files.

Provenance

Source

City of Philadelphia via Data.gov.

Collection Method

Calculated from student performance levels on state-mandated assessments.

Freshness

Last updated March 31, 2025.

Geography

Pennsylvania, United States.