PhiladelphiaGrowth vs statusmedium
Philly's growth-vs-proficiency quadrant: 4 categories of school worth different attention
Thesis
Plot PVAAS Algebra growth (x) vs Keystone Algebra proficiency (y) for the ~100 Philly schools with both metrics. Four quadrants emerge: (1) high growth + high proficiency = working well (selective HS), (2) high growth + low proficiency = improving from a low base (the most important story), (3) low growth + high proficiency = ceiling effect at selective schools, (4) low growth + low proficiency = needs intervention.
Supporting findings
- PVAAS growth + Keystone proficiency both have 2024-25 data; both are HS-grain metrics.
- Quadrant 1 (high+high): includes Bodine HS, Palumbo, the special-admission HS.
- Quadrant 2 (high+low) is the most editorially interesting — schools doing the most growth work from a low baseline.
- Quadrant 4 (low+low) is the federal CSI cohort overlap.
Reporting directions
- Build the actual scatter. Label outliers.
- Cross-reference Quadrant 2 with Major Intervention status — are these schools formally flagged for support?
- Make this a recurring annual story: schools' Quadrant migration tells the trajectory.
Methodology & replication recipe — the queries + sources behind the findings above.