Students > Student Handbook > General Information > Reading, Writing, and Mathematics Proficiency

Very similarly to the Graduation Project, beginning with the Class of 2007, in order to graduate, students must demonstrate their proficiency in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. Students' first opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency will be on the Grade 11 PSSA. We hope and expect that the vast majority of our students will demonstrate their proficiency on the PSSA. Those students who do not demonstrate their proficiency on the Grade 11 PSSA will be scheduled for the appropriate Intervention Program (Students not proficient in Reading and/or Writing, will be scheduled for Language Arts Intervention, and students not proficient in Mathematics will be scheduled for Mathematics Intervention.).

The Intervention Programs will be based upon State standards, particularly the PSSA anchors (The anchors are examples of prompts/problems that the State uses to measure students' achievement of standards.). Instruction in the Program will be differentiated based upon students' performance on a diagnostic test in the beginning of the class. The assessments for the Program, which will be based upon the anchors, will provide students with a variety of means by which to demonstrate their proficiency relative to the State standards. Earning a passing grade in the Intervention Program will be a second means by which students may demonstrate their proficiency.

Souderton Area High School typically receives individual student PSSA results in early or mid-August. Upon receipt of the scores, those students who are not proficient will be mailed a letter with their new schedule. The new schedule will include the appropriate Intervention Program course. The Intervention Program course will be scheduled as an every other day class for one quarter (during the First or Second Quarter) and will be worth .25 elective credits. On-level English and Mathematics courses can be scheduled concurrently with the Intervention Program courses.

Students who have not demonstrated their proficiency prior to the end of the First Semester during their senior year will not be permitted to graduate in January. Those students will be given a full schedule for the Second Semester and will be given additional assistance to help them demonstrate their proficiency.

Students with IEPs, depending upon the goals/objectives in their IEPs, will either be required or given the opportunity (if permitted by PDE) to enroll in the Intervention Program.

Students attending North Montco Technical Career Center (NMTCC) during their senior year who did not demonstrate their proficiency on the Grade 11 PSSA will experience integrated focused instruction in reading, writing, and/or math in their shop instruction. Students would be required to document their proficiency (i.e., reading and math logs and written responses)