Definitions and sources of expanded information
All information is from the 2005-06 school year unless noted.
Abbreviations
PPS: Pittsburgh Public Schools
PDE: Pennsylvania Department of Education
Teacher attendance
Definition: Average daily attendance for teachers. Non-attendance includes sick days, personal days, funeral leave, military leave, jury duty, and professional leave due to seminars, conferences, etc.
Sources: PPS and individual charter schools.
Teachers with advanced degrees
Definition: Percentage of teachers who have degrees beyond a bachelor’s degree plus teaching certification, including master’s degrees, master’s degrees plus additional credits, and doctoral degrees.
Sources: PPS and individual charter schools.
Principal stability
Definition: Number of different principals, chief executive officers or chief administrative officers in a school from the 2002-03 school year to the 2005-06 school year.
Sources: PPS’ “Public School Choices” and staff lists, and individual charter schools.
Student disciplinary actions
Definition: “Number of incidents” includes reported incidents of violence and possession of controlled substances or a weapon on school property (one incident may involve more than one offender). For a complete list of incidents at each school that were required to be reported to the state, including the category of “Other Misconduct” (not reported here), see: www.safeschools.state.pa.us/mod/HistoricReports/2005/files/tree.htm.
“Number of incidents per 100 students” represents the number of incidents divided by the total student enrollment multiplied by 100, so readers may compare data from schools of different sizes. “Number of expulsions” refers to expulsions related to reported incidents (including expulsions that are less than, equal to, or more than one calendar year). Information is from 2004-05.
Source: PDE.
International Baccalaureate (Schenley High School only)
Definition: Percentage of students taking at least one course in the International Baccalaureate program, offered only at Schenley High School.
Source: PPS.
Additional information for charter schools
Student mobility rate
Definition: A measure of student movement in and out of a school during one academic year. The student mobility rate represents the total number of student withdrawals and re-entries divided by the total enrollment for the year.
Sources: Individual charter schools.
Student stability rate
Definition: A measure of student stability during one academic year. The student stability rate represents the total number of students enrolled for the entire year divided by the total enrollment for the year.
Sources: Individual charter schools.
Interpreting mobility and stability percentages: A low number for the “mobility” percentage and a high number for the “stability” percentage indicate a stable student population.
Students receiving special education services (excluding “gifted”)
Definition: The percentage includes students receiving one or more special education services, excluding the “gifted” classification.
Sources: Individual charter schools.
Students identified as “gifted” (Urban League Charter School only)
Definition: Students identified as “gifted” based on multiple criteria, according to state law. Criteria may include IQ greater than or equal to 130; achievement test results; and/or evaluations of higher-level thinking skills, academic creativity, leadership skills, and communication skills.
Source: Urban League Charter School.
College-bound seniors
Definition: Percentage of graduates in 2006 who reported that they were planning to attend a two- or four-year college/university or an institution granting a specialized associates’ degree.
Sources: City Charter High School and Northside Urban Pathways Charter School.
Note about test scores and other information reported as “n/a”:
PPS Reading test scores were not available by subgroups*. PSSA scores were not available by subgroup for students who are not low-income. In other cases, subgroup scores are reported as “n/a” when that subgroup had 0-9 students (test scores of fewer than 10 students in a group or subgroup are not reported by PPS or PDE).
* “Subgroup” means a group within a larger group. For example, “white fifth-graders” is a subgroup of all fifth-graders.
A+ Schools
Pittsburgh's Community Alliance for Public Education
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Pittsburgh, PA 15219
412.258.2660
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