Publications
The When and How of Keystone Exams in the School District of Philadelphia
By: Molly Pileggi, Sean Vannata, Alyn Turner, Theodore Wills, and Roland Reyes July 2024 View This Brief In Pennsylvania, high school students must now demonstrate career or postsecondary preparedness to graduate. Two of the five...
Exploring the Diversity and Supports for School District of Philadelphia English Learners as they Prepare to Transition to High School
By: David Bamat, Sean Vannata, Lindsey Liu, Molly Schlesinger, and Alyn Turner
September 2023
The increasingly larger and more diverse population of EL students in Philadelphia schools requires more resources to provide effective instruction and other student support services. This report explores recent population shifts, focusing on 7th and 8th-grade ELs who are about to make the important transition to high school.
Changing the Finish Line: Implications of new graduation requirements in the School District of Philadelphia
By: Sean Vannata, Anna Shaw-Amoah, Molly Pileggi, Molly Schlesinger, Theodore Wills, Roland Reyes, and Alyn Turner
October 2022
Beginning with the class of 2023, Pennsylvania high school students will need to demonstrate career or postsecondary preparedness to meet statewide graduation requirements and receive a diploma. The new graduation requirements, enacted in 2018 by Pennsylvania’s Act 158, are intended to codify high standards for all students and improve student achievement across Pennsylvania while also taking into account student strengths, interests, and career goals.
Changing Requirements in Pennsylvania for High School Graduation: A Research Brief on Pennsylvania Act 158
Beginning with the class of 2023, graduating Pennsylvania high school students will need to demonstrate career or postsecondary preparedness in addition to meeting existing statewide graduation requirements. Read our policy brief to learn about the history of this “high stakes” policy, how research shaped its evolution, and what researchers suggest are its implications for equity in Pennsylvania.
High School Graduation in Philadelphia: 12 Key Questions
The purpose of this FAQ is to share what PERC has learned and how our research has been used to help high school students. As high school students return to school buildings post-pandemic, we also talk about how research might be used next year to support equitable pathways to graduation.
Recovering Credits in the School District of Philadelphia: High School Student Credit Recovery Utilization in 2018-19
By: Molly Pileggi, Alyn Turner, Lindsey Liu, and Jason Fontana
November 2020
This study provides a snapshot of the district’s school-year credit recovery utilization—including eligibility, enrollment, and completion—using newly available data for high school students who entered the 2018–19 school year with a record of one or more failed courses.
Getting Back on Track: How Off-Track Ninth Graders Progressed in Later Years of High School, Class of 2017 and 2018
By: Molly Pileggi, Lindsey Liu, and Alyn Turner
August 2020
Building upon this prior work, this report examines two of those same cohorts of off-track freshman in the expected graduating classes of 2017 and 2018, following them over time to understand which students were able to graduate and when they got back on track.
How Long Does It Take Philadelphia High Schoolers to Get to School? Transit Times to School District of Philadelphia High Schools in 2018
By: Molly Pileggi, Marc L. Stein, Alyn Turner, and Nathaniel Dewey
August 2020
This report uses School District of Philadelphia high school student enrollment and residence data to estimate student commutes to all 52 traditional district high schools via public transit.
Student Mobility and Dropout in Philadelphia High Schools, 2013-14 through 2016-2017
By: Matthew P. Steinberg, Molly Pileggi, and Ruth Neild
September 2019
This study uses four years of student-level data for all students enrolled in Philadelphia public high schools from the 2013-14 through 2016-17 school years. We examine the characteristics of mobile students and the types of schools they most commonly exit and enter as well as the characteristics of schools with higher rates of student mobility.
Present from the Start: Ninth Grade Attendance Patterns in the School District of Philadelphia, 2015-2017
By: Ted Wills, Ruth Curran Neild, Molly Pileggi
April 2019
This report studies attendance patterns of first-time SDP ninth graders during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years. It examines the spread of overall attendance rates in these two student cohorts, patterns over the course of their ninth grade year, and how those patterns differ for students with different levels of academic achievement.
Principal Mobility in Philadelphia Traditional and Charter Public Schools, 2007-08 through 2015-16
By: Matthew P. Steinberg, Haisheng Yang
January 2019
This report provides evidence on principal mobility among traditional public schools (Tin the School District of Philadelphia and charter public schools located in Philadelphia during the 2007-08 through 2015-16 school years.
Supporting Early Readers in Philadelphia’s Independent Charter Schools: An Initial Inquiry into Cross-School Collaboratives
By: Rachel Comly, Ryan Fink, Jill Pierce, Adrianne Flack
January 2019
This study is an initial inquiry into the need and opportunity for cross-school professional learning for educators at Philadelphia charter schools. The study team interviewed teachers and leaders in early literacy instruction from six independent charter schools in Philadelphia.
On Track Across Four Cohorts: Ninth Grade On-Track Patterns in the School District of Philadelphia, 2013-2017
By: Molly Pileggi, Kendra Strouf
October 2018
This brief extends analyses from the earlier report with data from two additional cohorts of first-time freshmen (the Classes of 2017 and 2018) to better understand whether the patterns described in the original report have been consistent over time.
Teacher Mobility in the School District of Philadelphia, 2009-10 through 2015-16
By: Matthew P. Steinberg, Ruth Curran Neild, W. Kyle Canuette, Sharin Park, Emily Schulman, and Melissa Wright
September 2018
This study examines the number and percentage of mobile teachers in the School District of Philadelphia from 2009-10 through 2015-16.
Ready from the Start: Identifying and Supporting At-Risk Ninth Graders from their Earliest Days in High School
By: Austin Slaughter, Ruth Curran Neild, Molly Crofton
July 2018
This study examines what can be known about entering ninth graders, based on their eighth grade school records, that can inform high schools about students’ likelihood of being on track at the end of their first year.
Supporting Early Readers: A Scan of K-3 Literacy Practices in Philadelphia Charter Schools
By: Rachel Comly, Ryan Fink, Monica Mielke, Adrianne Flack
July 2018
The study maps the landscape of charter schools’ approaches to early literacy programming, including their classroom instructional strategies, teacher training and collaboration, family engagement strategies, and targeted interventions for struggling readers.
Getting On Track to Graduation: Ninth Graders’ Credit Accumulation in the School District of Philadelphia, 2015-2017
By: Molly Crofton, Ruth Curran Neild
May 2018
This study applies the 2018 Ninth Grade On-Track Definition to students who were first-time ninth graders in the SDP during the 2015-16 or 2016-17 school years.
Finding Their Stride: Kindergarten English Learners’ Time to Proficiency in Philadelphia
By: Joshua Lin, Ruth Curran Neild
June 2017
This study provides evidence on the progress toward English proficiency of ELs who entered the District in kindergarten across four cohorts of students: 2008–09 through 2011–12.
Educating English Language Learners: Opportunities for Improved Infrastructure
By: Jeannette Rowland, Rebecca Reumann-Moore, Rosemary Hughes, Joshua Lin
June 2016
This brief examines the challenges schools face in these areas and the strategies they use to mediate them. The purpose of this brief is to share these strategies across schools and with the larger Philadelphia community, in order to help schools continue to improve ELL programming.
Working Together to Support English Language Learners: School-Family-Community Engagement
By: Rosemary Hughes, Rebecca Reumann-Moore, Jeannette Rowland, Joshua Lin
June 2016
This brief focuses on the ways family and community engagement can enhance schools’ efforts to improve outcomes for ELLs and highlights specific strategies schools can use to more effectively engage families and communities.