Philadelphia

In Philly State of Schools address, officials tout ongoing learning improvement

School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington touted ongoing educational gains on Thursday, though a recent report found the city's students trail other large cities in math and reading scores

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Philadelphia students are progressing in reading, and more are staying in school. But while the district celebrates those achievements, it’s also working on a new way to get students to improve in one particular subject: Math. NBC10’s Lauren Mayk shares how a financial incentive could help students get their scores up. 

Philadelphia School District Superintendent Tony Watlington, on Thursday, touted incremental growth and improvement in a number of areas for the district over the past year, even as a newly released national report card found that -- while, students have shown some progress over scores from 2022 -- Philly students are still trailing other major cities in reading and math scores.

As detailed in the report, the average scores for fourth-grade students in Philadelphia were lower than other large cities in both math and reading -- though, math scores did increase.

A look at Philadelphia students' results in the Nation's Report Card for 2024.
A look at Philadelphia students' results in the Nation's Report Card for 2024. (The Nation's Report Card)

In reading, Philadelphia student scores stayed relatively the same as 2022.

An overall dip in reading comprehension and a plateau in math achievement is something that was shown in districts across the country.

On Thursday, Tony Wallington touted recent successes that the district has seen -- like improvements in attendance, fewer school dropouts and performance increases in grades 3rd through 8th -- but admitted there was still work to be done.

"We've got a lot of work to do, but our children are well on their way," said Watlington.

He pointed to the national report, saying that he was "very pleased to learn" that the city's fourth graders achieved a seven point gain in math scores.

He also said school dropouts reduced by over 1,400 students.

During the day, Watlington noted the progress of the District’s five-year strategic plan, Accelerate Philly, and said that the plan will help the district meet lofty goals that have been set by the Board of Education.

“A dream without a plan is nothing more than a wish,” he said.

Also, in an effort to improve scores, in an interview with NBC10's Lauren Mayk, Watlington said that the district is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania to help algebra teachers and the district plans to provide financial incentives for students who don't pass a certain national test, so, they can prepare to take it again.

"And, for people who say why are you providing incentives? I’m going to say we’ve been providing incentives to corporate America for decades. We provide incentives to farmers...," Watlington told NBC10.

The superintendent said that this incentive would be paid through a partnership with the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia.

Following the release of the national report card, Dan Goldhaber, an education researcher, said that the results of this national educational progress report could be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and its lasting impact on students.

"It tells us that students are still struggling," said Goldhaber. "Post pandemic, we are not back to normal, even though, you know, many parents and the public may think that we're back to normal when it comes to student achievement."

To combat this, Watlington said that the district has been pushing hard on attendance to ensure children can learn, grow and succeed.

He said he is focused on making sure all Philly students are able to graduate and be career or college ready.

"All of our children are not well yet. And, the operative word is yet," he said. "But, I am here to tell you, with great pride in our partnerships, that more of our children are well."

This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.

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