The School District of Philadelphia’s school selection process opens Sept. 8, but students still do not have their 2025-26 PSSA and Keystone test scores, leaving families in limbo over how to apply to the city’s 37 criteria-based schools.
Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr. said Wednesday the district will release a plan next week for handling those applications. In the past, students have been required to submit two years of standardized test scores when applying for enrollment at criteria-based schools.
“We want to do what’s in our children’s best interest, and we want to safeguard the integrity of our school selection process,” Watlington said in a wide-ranging interview with PhillyVoice. “We understand this is front of mind for a lot of people and time is of the essence. So, we won’t delay on this.”
State delays hold up PSSA results
The district received preliminary test data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education in June but has chosen not to release it until the state verifies the scores are matched to the correct students. Other districts have already shared preliminary results with staff, and several charter school leaders have given their teachers access to the data, Chalkbeat reported.
Watlington said the district’s caution reflects the high rate of student mobility between district-operated and charter schools.
“In a district where you have a lot of kids moving about because of the transience and poverty levels between district-operated schools and charter schools, I tend to get all of the data and release it when it’s verified,” he said.
Preliminary statewide results were expected to be released Aug. 18, but PDE told district officials last week that a “review of the preliminary data is still underway,” the Inquirer reported. PDE did not respond to a request for comment.
A possible alternative exam this fall
One option under consideration is allowing students to take another exam in the fall in place of the missing 2025-26 scores, the Inquirer reported. Nothing has been finalized.
District spokespeople told Chalkbeat last week that the district cannot use the 2025-26 test results to “evaluate year-over-year student achievement or as the required criterion for school selection.” The district did not explain why.
Online testing glitches add uncertainty
The 2025-26 PSSA testing period was the first year exams were administered fully online. Several schools reported system-wide errors that prevented students from starting on time.
Watlington said he wants to make sure students are not penalized by those problems. He noted that other states have seen score declines after switching to online testing.
“I just want to make sure that we pay attention to it, and that kids aren’t negatively impacted by it,” he said. “Typically, when you move to online testing, you see some decline in other states. So, I would not be surprised if that happened here, too.”
Watlington listed “accelerating academic performance” as one of his main priorities for the 2026-27 school year. The district’s plan for criteria-based school applications is expected sometime next week.