A Downtown education group yesterday said the Pittsburgh Public Schools must significantly raise the achievement of black students if the district is to achieve its vision of "Excellence for All."

Despite improvements in some grades in recent years, the districtwide achievement gap remains 27.3 percentage points in math and 30.5 percentage points in reading, A+ Schools said in its annual report on the state of the district.

The achievement gap represents the difference between the percentage of white students who scored advanced or proficient on the 2009 state standardized test and the percentage of black students who did so. The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment annually is given to public school students in grades 3-8 and 11.

In comparison, the state's achievement gap is 27.6 percentage points in math and 28.7 percentage points in reading, A+ Schools said.

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City schools' achievement gap

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The district's achievement gap is "troubled," in part because of the implications for students' job- and college-readiness, said Carey Harris, executive director of A+ Schools.

From the 2005-06 through 2008-09 school years, the district's achievement gap in math narrowed in all grades tested except third grade.

The narrowing ranged from 0.9 percentage points in 11th grade to 7.5 percentage points in fifth grade. In third grade, the gap grew by 3.3 percentage points.

In reading, the district's gap narrowed in some grades and grew in others during the same period. The gap decreased by 1.7 percentage points in fourth grade, 1.6 percentage points in seventh grade and 5.3 percentage points in eighth grade.

However, the gap widened in third, fifth, sixth and 11th grades. The backsliding ranged from 0.4 percentage points in fifth grade to 6.4 percentage points in 11th grade, A+ Schools said.

The city's trend is opposite of the state trend, which showed a narrowing of the achievement gap in reading and math in all tested grades save one, A+ Schools said. In third-grade math, the state's gap did not change from 2005-06 through 2008-09.

Overall, the state showed more progress in narrowing the achievement gap in reading and math than the district did during the three-year period.

The district's achievement gap is greatest in the high schools and narrowest in elementary schools. K-8 schools have bigger gaps than K-5 and middle schools.

School District Superintendent Mark Roosevelt thanked A+ Schools for the report, saying, "This is the kind of discussion we ought to be having in Pittsburgh around student achievement.

"There are things in it that cause me pain; there are things in it I'm proud of," he said of the report.

Eliminating the achievement gap is part of Mr. Roosevelt's "Excellence for All" campaign. The district next summer is offering a new summer reading camp to boost proficiency in reading, and the district is working on a comprehensive report on the status of its black students.

Test scores aren't the only indication of black students' struggles.

Last school year, city high school seniors needed a cumulative grade-point average of 2.25 or higher to qualify for the Pittsburgh Promise college scholarship program.

At six of 10 high schools, more than 60 percent of all seniors met the GPA requirement. In only two high schools, however, did 60 percent or more of black seniors meet the requirement.

At three of 10 high schools last school year, more than 10 percent of all students took Advanced Placement courses. In only two high schools, however, were more than 10 percent of black students enrolled in AP courses.

In its report, A+ Schools also took time to highlight success stories. Since 2006-07, the group said, 10 percent of district elementary schools, 21 percent of K-8 schools and 20 percent of middle schools improved test scores by more than 10 percentage points in reading and math.

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