Mifflin County students trail state in math, reading

Stanford data shows larger gap in math as board weighs academic goals

LEWISTOWN – Mifflin County School District students continue to trail state averages in math and reading, with math showing the larger gap, according to Stanford University data presented to the school district’s board of directors Thursday night.

Board president Brent Erb presented findings from the Stanford Education Data Archive’s Educational Opportunity Project, which uses state assessment data to compare achievement among districts, schools, grade levels, and student groups.

The study doesn’t measure proficiency percentages, he said. Instead, it uses what it calls grade-year units, with one unit representing one school year of academic achievement. Erb said Mifflin County’s 2025 math score was 4.14 compared with a Pennsylvania average of 5.27, putting the district roughly 1.1 grade-year units below the state average. The reading gap was about 0.87.

Erb said the trend after 2022 concerned him as much as the size of the gaps. State performance began to level off after the COVID-19 pandemic period used in the study, while Mifflin County’s results continued declining.

“The most alarming signal is not from the pandemic,” Erb said. “It’s that Pennsylvania as a whole recovered, but we continue to run a downhill trend, predominantly in math and reading categories.”

The data identified sixth-grade math and fourth-grade math and reading as areas needing attention. Because the study uses 2025 data, those students are now in seventh and fifth grades. Erb said the district ranked near the bottom of Pennsylvania districts in sixth-grade math, while fourth-grade math ranked in the 13th percentile and fourth-grade reading in the 12th percentile. Fifth-grade math performed better, ranking in the 42nd percentile.

A comparison with nine peer districts also showed a larger difference in math. Those districts exceeded Mifflin County by about 0.85 grade-year units in math and 0.28 in reading. The data also showed female students outperforming students in reading by about 0.95 grade-year units.

Erb proposed several measurable goals through 2029, including reversing the district’s math decline, raising districtwide math and reading scores, improving performance in the grade levels identified by the study, and reducing achievement gaps among economically disadvantaged students.

He stressed the targets were recommendations for discussion with administrators rather than an adopted district plan.

“My objective in presenting this was to foster this discussion,” Erb said.

District administrators said several math interventions are already underway. Some middle school students receive extended math blocks, and the district has added additional staffing to provide small-group and individual intervention. A new K-5 math series was implemented last year after being piloted the previous year. The district is also piloting a new core reading series at the elementary level this year.

Administrators cautioned that they want to learn more about the Stanford project’s methodology and determine how its results correlate with PSSA and Keystone exam data. They also noted that Mifflin County exceeded state averages in literature and biology on 2024-25 Keystone results, and said some student groups have shown year-to-year growth on the PSSAs.

In other business, the board approved an $89,481.25 control-system upgrade for the elevator at Lewistown Intermediate School. The 37-year-old elevator recently experienced problems, and replacement circuit boards are no longer manufactured. District documents state that delaying the work beyond Dec. 19 could add $25,000 to $60,000 because the elevator would become subject to newer code requirements.

The board also discussed opening licensing of the district’s Husky logo and trademark to additional local businesses. Members expressed interest in a standard licensing agreement that would allow local printers to produce district merchandise while protecting the trademark.

District officials said the school store and previous licensing arrangements have generated slightly more than $26,000 since 2015. Superintendent Vance Varner directed board members to examine licensing options and return with more information, including possible fees, at the October meeting.