The percentage of students considered proficient, advanced, basic and below basic on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) Grade 8 English Language Arts and Math exams and reported for the total student population.

To gauge the success of developing of math and reading skills in students through the public school system. Math is an important foundation for continuing progress in not only math, but also science and related subjects. Reading proficiency is correlated to whether a student will graduate high school.

In the 2023 PSSA testing scores for 8th graders across Erie County's public schools, there were notable changes in proficiency levels in both Math and Reading. In Math, the percentage of students achieving Proficient status rose to an average of 21.77%, an increase from the previous year's average of 19.36%. This improvement reflects a positive trend in Math proficiency among the students. Conversely, in Reading, the percentage of students reaching the Proficient level slightly increased to 38.94% in 2023, compared to 38.71% in 2022. However, there was a notable shift in the Advanced proficiency levels. The proportion of students reaching the Advanced level in Reading decreased from 19.65% in 2022 to 16.11% in 2023, representing a decline of 3.54%. On the other hand, in Math, the percentage of students attaining Advanced proficiency saw a slight increase of 1.29%, signaling a small but positive change in high-level Math performance. 

EVS analyzes the data in each topic category using indicators, which report a targeted and digestible number, rate, or amount to represent Erie County as a whole. While this does not cover every aspect of the topic, it assists in establishing Erie's performance relative to the prior year(s). The indicators for the Education: 8th Grade Achievement topic are:

This indicator measures the percentage of public school 8th graders in Erie County achieving proficient and advanced reading standards. The trend for 8th Graders Achieving Reading Standards has decreased from 2022, with a reported increase  of -3.31% within the County.

This indicator measures the percentage of public school 8th graders in Erie County achieving proficient and advanced mathstandards. The trend for 8th Graders Achieving Math Standards is up and better from 2022, with a reported increase of +3.7% within the County.

Data from the PA Department of Education as of 09/2024.