Goals and Guardrails

In 2020-21, the School District of Philadelphia’s Board of Education established Goals and Guardrails that outline what our students must know and be able to accomplish, and describe conditions needed in each school to empower all students to succeed in and beyond the classroom.

The Progress Monitoring process ensures that the Board of Education and all members of the community can see the impacts of these efforts. Each Goal will be publicly monitored three times a year, and each Guardrail will be publicly reported on once a year at Board meetings.

Goals
Guardrails
Progress Monitoring Calendar
Progress Monitoring Dashboard
Frequently Asked Questions

Goals

Goal 1: Reading

The percentage of students in grades 3-8 who are proficient on the state ELA assessment will grow from 35.7% in August 2019 to 65.0% by August 2026.

Leading Indicators

1.1: The percentage of students in grades 3-8 who score at or above grade-level on the District’s within-year reading assessment in Fall, Winter, and Spring each year.

1.2: The percentage of students, by student group, in grades 3-8 who score at or above grade-level on the District’s within-year reading assessment in Fall, Winter, and Spring each year.

Data

Goal 1 Data: Reading 3-8

Goal 2: Reading

The percentage of 3rd grade students who are proficient on the state ELA assessment will grow from 32.5% in August 2019 to 62.0% by August 2026.

Leading Indicators

2.1: The percentage of students in grades K-3 who score at or above grade-level on the District’s within-year reading assessment in Fall, Winter, and Spring each year.

2.2: The percentage of students, by student group, in grades K-3 who score at or above grade-level on the District’s within-year reading assessment in Fall, Winter, and Spring each year.

Data

Goal 2 Data: Reading K-3

Goal 3: Math

The percentage of students in grades 3-8 who are proficient on the state Math assessment will grow from 21.6% in August 2019 to 52.0% by August 2026.

Leading Indicators

3.1: The percentage of students in grades 3-8 who score at or above grade-level on the District’s within-year math assessment in Fall, Winter, and Spring each year.

3.2: The percentage of students, by student group, in grades 3-8 who score at or above grade-level on the District’s within-year math assessment in Fall, Winter, and Spring each year.

Data

Goal 3 Data: Math 3-8

Goal 4: College & Career

The percentage of students who are proficient on all three state high school assessments (Algebra, Literature, and Biology) by the end of their 11th grade year will grow from 26.1% in August 2019 to 52.0% by August 2026.

Leading Indicators

4.1: The percentage of students in grades 9-11 who score at or above grade level on the District’s within-year math and reading assessments in Fall, Winter, and Spring each year.

4.2: The percentage of students who are proficient on all three state high school assessments (Algebra, Literature, and Biology) by the end of their 10th grade year.

4.3: The percentage of students, by student group, who are proficient on all three state high school assessments (Algebra, Literature, and Biology) by the end of their 10th grade year.

Data

Goal 4 Data: HS Performance

Goal 5: College & Career

The percentage of Career and Technical Education (CTE) students who pass an industry standards-based competency assessment by the end of their 12th grade year will grow from 54.5% in August 2019 to 80.0% in August 2026.

Leading Indicators

5.1: The percentage of 11th grade CTE students who pass their CTE Level 2 coursework (with a grade of A or B).

5.2: The percentage of 10th grade CTE students who pass their CTE Level 1 coursework (with a grade of A or B).

Data

Goal 5 Data: College & Career

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Guardrails

Guardrail 1: Safe and Welcoming Schools

Every school will be a safe, welcoming, and healthy place where our students, staff, and community want to be and learn each day.

This means that our schools will be: 1) environmentally safe and clean; and 2) spaces with inclusive climates that provide students with access to robust social, emotional, and mental health supports.

Leading Indicators

1.1: The percentage of schools with both a high Overall District-Wide Survey Climate rating and a high Overall District-Wide Survey Instruction rating will grow from 17.7% (38 schools) in August 2020 to 58.6% (126 schools) by August 2026.

1.3: The percentage of schools with at least two FTE (full-time equivalent) positions, per 500 students, to support student mental and behavioral needs will grow from 64.2% (138 schools) in August 2020 to 93.5% (201 schools) by August 2026.

Data

Guardrail 1 Data: Climate, Instruction, and Health

Guardrail 2: Enriching and Well-Rounded Experiences

Every student will have a well-rounded education with co-curricular opportunities, including arts and athletics, integrated into the school experience.

Leading Indicators

2.1: The percentage of K-8 students enrolled in visual or performing arts courses at each school will grow from 90.0% in August 2020 to 100.0% by August 2026.

Data

Guardrail 2 Data: Enriching, Well-Rounded Experiences

Guardrail 3: Partnering with Parents & Family Members

Every parent and guardian will be welcomed and encouraged to be partners in their child’s school community.

Leading Indicators

3.1: The percentage of schools with a high Overall District-Wide Survey School Relationship rating will grow from 24.2% (52 schools) in August 2020 to 61.9% (133 schools) by August 2026.

3.2: The percentage of schools that have a School Advisory Council (SAC) that holds three or more meetings per year will grow from 89.3% (192 schools) in August 2020 to 100.0% (215 schools) by August 2026.

Data

Guardrail 3 Data: Partnering with Parents & Family

Guardrail 4: Addressing Racist Practices

Our students’ potential will not be limited by practices that perpetuate systemic racism and hinder student achievement.

Leading Indicators

4.1: Among 8th grade students who are qualified to attend Criteria-Based High Schools, the percentage who are Black/African American or Hispanic/Latinx will grow from 34.3% in August 2020 to at least 52.0% (making progress towards being proportional to population as a whole) by August 2026.

4.2: The percentage of suspensions received by Black/African American students will decrease from 72.8% in August 2020 to no more than 48.3% (proportional to population as a whole) by August 2026.

Data

Guardrail 4 Data: Equity

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are Leading Indicators?

SDP has developed research-based leading indicators for each Goal and Guardrail that will indicate progress over the five-year period. These will be included in monthly Progress Monitoring reports presented to the Board, and they will also be included in the District’s annual accountability framework, the School Progress Report for Equity and Education (SPREE).

What is the Board's approach to Progress Monitoring?

Decision-making will center around four lines of inquiry:

  • Who? Are we progressing toward the goals as expected? Which schools are on-track? Which are near-track? Which are off-track?
  • What? Which circumstances surrounded the data for struggling and excelling students?
  • Why? Which events, decisions, or activities help describe what happened?
  • How? Which changes will the Leadership Team make based on the data?

How does the Office of Evaluation, Research, and Accountability (ERA) support the Goals and Guardrails?

ERA supports the Goals by collecting data on Leading Indicators, including the percentage of students reading on grade level, the percentage of students performing on grade level in math, graduation rates, matriculation rates, and the percentage of English learners meeting or exceeding their individual progress goals. This information is compiled in the annual Accountability Framework, a tool used to track school- and District-level progress, and it is also available on our School Profiles, an interactive dashboard designed to increase the public accessibility of the data.

ERA supports the Guardrails by including measures of equity in growth by student group on the annual Accountability Framework. We also administer the District-Wide Survey, which gathers feedback from students, teachers, principals, and parents/guardians about key topics related to school improvement, including climate (Guardrails 1 and 2) and parent/guardian community ties (Guardrail 3). We are also committed to examining issues of equity and anti-racism in our reports and briefs, which provide timely and actionable analyses of school- and District-level data.

Where can the public access more information about schools and Leading Indicators?

Our Open Data project includes longitudinal data sets spanning various school and student performance areas.

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