Biglerville High School

Graduation rate

In 2013, Upper Adams School District's graduation rate was 91%. In 2012, the District's graduation rate was 88.11%.

The graduation rate for the Class of 2011 was 88%. In 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Upper Adams School District's rate was 91% for 2010.

According to traditional graduation rate calculations:

Academics

Biglerville High School achieved 73.6 out of 100. This reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. In reading/literature, 78.7% were on grade level. In Algebra 1, only 64% showed on grade level skills. In Biology, just 45% showed on grade level science understanding. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2,181 public schools (less than 73 percent of Pennsylvania public schools), achieved an academic score of 70 or higher. Pennsylvania 11th grade students no longer take the PSSAs. Instead, they now take the Keystone Exams at the end of the associated course.

PSSAs are NCLB related examinations which were administered from 2003 through 2012. In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania changed its high school assessments to the Keystone Exams in Algebra 1, reading/literature and Biology 1. The exams are given at the end of the course, rather than all in the spring of the student's 11th grade year.

Science in Motion Biglerville High School did not take advantage of a state program called Science in Motion which brought college professors and sophisticated science equipment to the school to raise science awareness and to provide inquiry-based experiences for the students. The Science in Motion program was funded by a state appropriation and cost the school nothing to participate. Gettysburg College provided the science enrichment experiences to schools in the region.

College Remediation

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 31% of Biglersville High School graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges. Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.

Dual enrollment

The high school offers a dual enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities and programs at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offers a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books. Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions. The Pennsylvania College Credit Transfer System reported in 2009, that students saved nearly $35.4 million by having their transferred credits count towards a degree under the new system. Students who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school, or home school, are eligible to participate in the district's dual enrollment program by Pennsylvania law. For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $4,193 for the program.

In 2014, Upper Adams School District offered several dual enrollment courses in conjunction with Pennsylvania College of Technology. Penn College NOW classes are taught by approved Biglerville High School teachers at the high school.

Graduation requirements

Graduation requirements vary widely among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts. The Upper Adams School Board has determined that a pupil must earn 24 credits to graduate, including: math 3 credits (Algebra IB, Geometry required), English 4 credits, social studies 4 credits, science 3 credits (Biology I required), humanities 2 credits, physical education 2 credits, health 0.5 credit, Driver's Ed. 0.25 credit, and electives 5 credits.

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district. Effective with the graduating class of 2017, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education eliminated the state mandate that students complete a culminating project in order to graduate.

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, beginning with the class of 2017, public school students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, and English Literature by passing the Keystone Exams. The exam is given at the end of the course. Keystone Exams replace the PSSAs for 11th grade.

Students have several opportunities to pass the exam. Those who do not pass after several attempts can perform a project in order to graduate. For the class of 2019, a Composition exam will be added. For the class of 2020, passing a civics and government exam will be added to the graduation requirements. In 2011, Pennsylvania high school students field tested the Algebra 1, Biology and English Lit exams. The statewide results were: Algebra 1 38% on grade level, Biology 35% on grade level, and English Lit 49% on grade level. Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Students identified as having special needs and qualifying for an Individual Educational Program (IEP) may graduate by meeting the requirements of their IEP.

SAT scores

In 2013, Upper Adams School District students took the SAT exams. The district's average verbal score was 477. The math average score was 481. The writing average score was 454. The College Board reported that statewide average scores were 494 in verbal, 504 in math, and 482 in writing. The nationwide SAT results were the same as in 2012.

In 2012, 101 Upper Adams School District students took the SAT exams. The district's average verbal score was 457. The math average score was 476. The writing average score was 449. The statewide verbal SAT exams results were: Verbal 491, math 501, writing 480. In the USA, 1.65 million students took the exams, averaging verbal 496, math 514, writing 488. According to the College Board, 360 students nationwide scored a perfect 2,400.

In 2011, 75 Upper Adams School District students took the SAT exams. The district's average verbal score was 473. The math average score was 487. The writing average score was 462. Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with average scores of verbal 493, math 501, and writing 479. 1.65 million US students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 verbal, 514 math, and 489 writing.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education compared the SAT data of students in rural areas of Pennsylvania to students in urban areas. From 2003 to 2005, the average total SAT score for students in rural Pennsylvania was 992, while urban students averaged 1,006. During the same period, 28 percent of 11th and 12th graders in rural school districts took the exam, compared to 32 percent of urban students in the same grades. The average math and verbal scores were 495 and 497, respectively, for rural students, while urban test-takers averaged 499 and 507, respectively. Pennsylvania’s SAT composite score ranked low on the national scale in 2004. The composite SAT score of 1,003 left Pennsylvania ranking 44 out of the 50 states and Washington, DC.

AP Courses

As of 2013, Biglerville High School does not offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Classrooms for the Future grant

The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funds to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class (English, science, history, math) and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers' use. The program was funded from 2006 to 2009. The Upper Adams School District did not apply to participate in 2006-07 or in 2007-08. The District received $104,861 in 2008-09. Among the public school districts in Adams County the highest award was given to Gettysburg Area School District which received $341,842. The highest funding statewide was awarded to Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County - $9,409,073. The grant program was discontinued by Governor Edward Rendell as part of the 2009-10 state budget.

Tuition

Students who live in the Upper Adams School District's attendance area may choose to attend one of Pennsylvania's 157 public charter schools. A student living in a neighboring public school district or a foreign exchange student may seek admission to Upper Adams School District. For these cases, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sets an annual tuition rate for each school district. This is the amount the public school district pays to a charter school for each resident student that attends the charter and it is the amount a nonresident student's parents must pay to attend the district's schools. The 2012 tuition rate for the Biglerville High School was $8,949.98.

Wellness policy

Upper Adams School Board established a district wellness policy in 2006. The policy deals with nutritious meals served at school, the control of access to some foods and beverages during school hours, age appropriate nutrition education for all students, and physical education for students K-12. The policy is in response to state mandates and federal legislation (P.L. 108 – 265). The law dictates that each school district participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq) "shall establish a local school wellness policy by School Year 2006." Most districts identified the superintendent and school foodservice director as responsible for ensuring local wellness policy implementation.

The legislation placed the responsibility of developing a wellness policy at the local level so the individual needs of each district can be addressed. According to the requirements for the Local Wellness Policy, school districts must set goals for nutrition education, physical activity, campus food provision, and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness. Additionally, districts were required to involve a broad group of individuals in policy development and to have a plan for measuring policy implementation. Districts were offered a choice of levels of implementation for limiting or prohibiting low nutrition foods on the school campus. In final implementation these regulations prohibit some foods and beverages on the school campus. The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the district to submit a copy of the policy for approval.

The Biglerville High School offers a free breakfast and free or reduced-price lunch to children in low income families. All students attending the school can eat breakfast and lunch. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level are provided a breakfast and lunch at no cost to the family. Children from families with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty level can be charged no more than 30 cents per breakfast. A foster child whose care and placement is the responsibility of the state or who is placed by a court with a caretaker household is eligible for both a free breakfast and a free lunch. Runaway, homeless and migrant youth are also automatically eligible for free meals. The meals are partially funded with federal dollars through the United States Department of Agriculture.

In 2013, the USDA issued new restrictions to foods in public schools. The rules apply to foods and beverages sold on all public school district campuses during the day. They limit vending machine snacks to a maximum of 200 calories per item. Additionally, all snack foods sold at school must meet competitive nutrient standards, meaning they must have fruits, vegetables, dairy or protein in them or contain at least 10 percent of the daily value of fiber, calcium, potassium, and Vitamin D. In order to comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 all US public school districts are required to raise the price of their school lunches to $2.60 regardless of the actual cost of providing the lunch.

Biglerville High School provides health services as mandated by the Commonwealth and the federal government. Nurses are available in each building to conduct annual health screenings (data reported to the PDE and state Department of Health) and to dispense prescribed medications to students during the school day. Students can be excluded from school unless they comply with all the State Department of Health’s extensive immunization mandates. School nurses monitor each pupil for this compliance. Nurses also monitor each child's weight.

The District participated in Highmark Healthy High 5 Health eTools for Schools which enabled mobile data collection of pertinent health and physical fitness screening data on students K-12 in a database held by InnerLink, Inc. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Health eTools for Schools also provided interdisciplinary research-based curriculum in nutrition, physical education and physical activity to participating districts. The program was discontinued in 2013.

Extracurriculars

Biglerville High School offers a wide variety of clubs and activities, and an extensive, costly sports program. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy and in compliance with standards set by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). The School is in PIAA District 3. The school's mascot is a Canner.

By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students residing in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school, or home school, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs, including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.

Sports

The District funds:

According to PIAA directory July 2013.