Academics
Academic standards enable parents, teachers, schools and school districts to monitor and measure a student’s progress. The standards – or academic goals – define what each student should know and be able to do in particular subject areas following the completion of specific grade levels.
Chapter 4 of the Pennsylvania Curriculum Regulations requires schools to implement planned instruction for each subject area for which standards have been established. Therefore, planned instruction has been developed in the following:
- Math (K-12)
- English Language Arts (K-12)
- Science (K-12)
- Social Studies (K-12)
- Special subject areas (K-12)
Student achievement in Mathematics and English Language Arts is evaluated in grades 3-8 and in science in grades 4 and 8 through the use of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). Additionally, students take Keystone Exams in Biology, Algebra I, and Grade 10 Literature.
A teacher's planned instruction includes the standards, objectives, types of activities provided, activities for students who need additional time and support to reach a proficient level and additional activities for students who reach proficiency at an earlier date to enrich and take learning to a new level.
Future Ready PA Index
The Future Ready PA Index measures college and career readiness, such as industry-based learning and access to rigorous courses of study, student academic improvement, and growth on a variety of indicators – reducing the reliance on standardized test scores as the sole measurement of a school’s success.
To see details about building-specific scores, please choose your student’s building below:
- Highcliff Elementary
- McIntyre Elementary
- Ross Elementary
- West View Elementary
- North Hills Middle School
- North Hills High School
As a district, North Hills will continue to analyze our student scores, performance and programs to improve our academic offerings and better prepare our students to be successful.
About Future Ready PA Index
As the tool was being developed and launched in 2018, educators, parents, and community members from across the state, including those from NHSD, provided input to the Pennsylvania Department of Education on the measurements and evaluation indicators that should be considered for the Future Ready PA Index.
The Future Ready PA Index measures college and career readiness, such as industry-based learning and access to rigorous courses of study, student academic improvement, and growth on a variety of indicators – reducing the reliance on standardized test scores as the sole measurement of a school’s success.
The index provides the North Hills community with a more holistic picture of our schools’ performance beyond test scores with a transparent and easy-to-use online tool.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, and reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The previous version of the law, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, was enacted in 2002.
ESSA Highlights
- Advances equity by upholding critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need students.
- Requires that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.
- Ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments that measure students' progress toward those high standards.
- Helps to support and grow local innovations—including evidence-based and place-based interventions developed by local leaders and educators.
- Sustains and expands investments in increasing access to high-quality preschool.
- Maintains an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive change in lowest-performing schools, where groups of students are not making progress, and where graduation rates are low over extended periods of time.
History of ESEA
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who believed that "full educational opportunity" should be "our first national goal." From its inception, ESEA was a civil rights law.
ESEA offered new grants to districts serving low-income students, federal grants for textbooks and library books, funding for special education centers, and scholarships for low-income college students. Additionally, the law provided federal grants to state educational agencies to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education.