Philadelphia-Area Schools Shine on State Assessment Tests.

Aug. 21--The 21 schools overhauled and given extra support by the Philadelphia district outscored both charter schools and those operated by private managers -- including Edison Schools Inc. -- on state reading and math tests, according to the district's analysis.

The so-called "restructured schools" brought more students to higher levels of achievement on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, which tests students in grades five, eight and 11.

District chief executive officer Paul G. Vallas was thrilled with the 2003 results because the district plans to use some of the same methods in many other district schools this fall.

"Once we bring those things to scale this year, I think you'll see greater gains," he said.

The 21 schools, designed to compete with Edison and the other managers, doubled the amount of time spent on reading and math, he said. They also added coaches to help teachers improve their craft and ran after-school programs for low-achieving students.

But Vallas acknowledged that the district still has a long way to go. More than half the students still score "below basic" in math, and 48 percent do the same in reading.

"I tell people it's like we're climbing Mount Everest and we're at base camp," he said. "The only difference is a few years ago we weren't even in the Himalayas. But at least now we can see the top."

Leidy School, one of the restructured schools, achieved the greatest gain in advanced and proficient students in fifth-grade reading in the district. It also was third in the Philadelphia region.

State goals call for schools to have at least 35 percent of students score at proficient or above in math and 45 percent in reading. Proficiency is defined, generally, as performing at grade level in the subject area.

Principal Lorna Horsey said the school spent 120 minutes on reading and literacy daily and 90 minutes on math. Educators also assessed students more frequently, analyzed the data, and discussed ways to improve instruction.

Horsey, principal of the West Philadelphia school for six years, said she wasn't "gung ho" about being tagged for overhaul at first. "But," she added, "it has turned out to be really good for Leidy."

As a whole, the restructured schools reduced the number of students scoring below basic levels by 15 percentage points in math and 11.3 in reading. Edison's 20 schools, by comparison, barely changed the percentage of students in that category in math and actually did slightly worse in reading.

The restructured schools also increased the number of students scoring advanced and proficient by 7.5 points in math and 8.7 points in reading. Edison increased 1.1 in math and barely changed in reading.

Edison schools did show growth, although minuscule in some cases. Of 17 schools with fifth grades, reading scores improved in 13 and math scores in 14. Of the 12 with eighth grades, five improved both reading and math scores, while seven saw scores drop.

"In our elementaries, where the student issues are generally not as great as in middle schools, we saw pretty good progress," Edison vice president John Chubb said.

Chubb also said that there is often resistance in the first year that softens by the second year. In Edison's first year in Chester Upland School District in Delaware County, PSSA scores stayed flat or declined. In 2003, they increased.

In restructured schools, there was less resistance to change because the efforts were seen by most teachers and principals as staving off privatization.

Of the seven outside managers, three schools overseen by the University of Pennsylvania showed the greatest percentage-point improvements in math, while the five operated by Chancellor Beacon Academies did the best in reading.

Chancellor Beacon was the only outside manager fired by the school district last spring for failure to show an effect in its schools. Yet the schools showed gains in 10 of…