2023 Executive Summary
2023 Report to the Community
Executive Summary
Overview
This 18th Report to the Community on Public School Progress in Pittsburgh looks again at the systemic issues that contribute to the outcomes for children in Pittsburgh’s public schools. We seek to understand what’s working well and what are the challenges that families, students, and school staff face in helping children reach and exceed a shared standard of success.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE 2023 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The chart ‘Enrollment change by grade level’ on page 20 was updated after the print version was released to correct an error.
This year, we also consider how the current number of schools and their configurations contribute to inequitable access to opportunities and resources. These legacies of our current system demand a collective effort to enact significant changes to benefit students.
Definitions and sources of information used in the Executive Summary
English Language Learners
Definition: PPS students attending an instructional program for children whose dominant language is not English.
Source: PPS.
Excess building capacity
Definition: Excess building capacity is calculated by subtracting the school’s official enrollment from its functional building capacity. Functional capacity is calculated by dividing the number of classrooms in a building by standard classroom sizes.
Source: PPS 2022 Budget.
Incidents leading to out-of-school suspensions
Definition: For PPS students, percentages of incidents that led to out-of-school suspensions for violence or weapons possession; tobacco, alcohol, and drug use or possession; other conduct; and academic issues.
Source: PDE, Safe Schools Report.
Inexperienced teachers
Definition: Pennsylvania’s measure of “inexperience” is an educator with fewer than three full school years of teaching experience.
Source: PDE (ESSA Consolidated Plan, 2018).
Out-of-field teachers, teachers with emergency permits
Definition: The numbers and percentages of teachers assigned to teach subjects they are not certified to teach, and individuals without full certification who have been given emergency permits to fill open positions.
Source: PDE.
Number of AP/IB courses offered, by school
Definition: The number of Advanced Placement courses offered to students in each PPS school with 9th-12th grades.
Source: PPS.
Number of students identified as “gifted”
Definition: Number of students with a “Gifted” Individual Education Plan.
Source: PPS.
Per-pupil funding
Definition: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that “states annually report for every public school and local educational agency the total per-pupil spending of federal, state and local money disaggregated by source of funds for the preceding fiscal year. This includes actual (not average) spending on personnel” (Edunomics Lab).
Source: PDE, ESSA Dashboard 2022 (https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/padeptofed/viz/ESSA_Dashboard_2022/2022AnnualMeaningfulDifferentiationCSIA-TSI)
Seniors who earned a GPA of 2.8 or higher
Definition: The number of PPS seniors at the end of 2023 with an overall unweighted grade point average (GPA) of 2.8 or higher, which is associated with a higher likelihood of college completion.
Sources: PPS and National College and Career Readiness Indicators (redefiningready.org).
Students experiencing homelessness who were chronically absent
Definition: The percentage of students experiencing homelessness who were chronically absent.
Source: Homeless Children’s Education Fund.