Another "F" for Philly

Another dubious distinction for Philadelphia, this time on the Nation's Report Card, which reports on educational attainment among students in 4^th and 8^th grade, both across the nation and in select urban districts. The Philadelphia students who took the test performed dismally.  Only 16 percent of 4^th Grades and 17 percent of 8^th Graders tested as proficient in math.  As Dale Mezzacappa points out in The Notebook, the results raise questions about student performance as measured by the PSSA, which is Pennsylvania's program to measure student progress in the basics.  In 2009,  60 percent of 4^th Graders and 51 percent of 8^th Graders in Philadelphia tested as proficient in math on the PSSA.