Littlestown Senior High School

Graduation rate

In 2013, the graduation rate at Littlestown Area School District was just 85.8%. The Littlestown Area School District's graduation rate was just 85% in 2012. In 2011, the District's graduation rate was reported as 89.39%. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Littlestown Area School District's rate was 89% for 2010.

According to traditional graduation rate calculations:

Academics

Littlestown Senior High School achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status every year from 2003 through 2012.

PSSAs are the federal No Child Left Behind Act 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 Biology1. The Keystone 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 Littlestown Senior 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, 36% of Littlestown Area 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 Littlestown Senior 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.

For the 2009-10 funding year, the Littlestown Area School District received a state grant of $3,405 for the program.

Graduation requirements

Among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts, graduation requirements widely vary. The Littlestown Area School Board has determined that a pupil must earn 26 credits to graduate, including: math 3 credits, English 4 credits, social studies 4 credits, science 3 credits, Arts humanities - 2 credits, Phys. Ed. and Health/Driver Education 3 credits and 7 credits in electives.

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility 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, for the graduating classes of 2017, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Keystone Exams replace the PSSAs for 11th grade. At LASD, the Class of 2017 and beyond are exempt from the graduation project requirement.

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 2014, Littlestown Senior High School offered a SAT prep course in the evenings. The fee was $30 per student.

In 2013, Littlestown Area School District students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 494.77. The Math average score was 508.84. The Writing average score was 477.79. The College Board reported that statewide scores were: 494 in reading, 504 in math and 482 in writing. The nationwide SAT results were the same as in 2012.

In 2012, 92 Littlestown Area School District students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 506. The Math average score was 505. The Writing average score was 465. The statewide Verbal SAT exams results were: Verbal 491, Math 501, Writing 480. In the USA, 1.65 million students took the exams achieving scores: Verbal 496, Math 514, Writing 488. According to the College Board the maximum score on each section was 800, and 360 students nationwide scored a perfect 2,400.

In 2011, 89 Littlestown Area School District students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 500. The Math average score was 493. The Writing average score was 470. Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479. In the United States, 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 (out of 800) verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.

AP Courses

In 2013, Littlestown Senior High School offered 7 Advanced Placement (AP) courses at a higher cost than regular courses. The school offers: AP Computers, AP U. S. History, AP English, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, and AP English. Students have the option of taking College Board approved courses and then taking the College Board's examination in the Spring. Students, who achieve a 3 or better on the exam, may be awarded college credits at US universities and colleges. Each higher education institution sets its own standards about what level of credits are awarded to a student based on their AP exam score. Most higher education give credits for scores of 4 or 5. Some schools also give credits for scores of 3. High schools give credits towards graduation to students who take the school's AP class. At Littlestown Area School District the AP courses are weighted at 1.2 credits. At Littlestown Senior High School just 17% of students who took an AP course earned a 3 or better on the exam.

Classrooms for the Future grant

Littlestown Area School Board received a grant, from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to purchase equipment to help reform the high school's core subjects instruction and to prepare students for future employment by using cutting-edge equipment and software. The District used the funds to purchase laptops for the high school students, laptops for teachers, laptop carts and other digital equipment. The grant provided additional funding for a technology coach to instruct teachers in using the equipment to improve instruction. In 2006-07 and 2007-08 the district did not apply for funding. In 2008-09, the District received $138,210 in funding. Beginning in 2006, Pennsylvania's Classrooms for the Future program distributed more than $150 million for laptops, interactive boards and other high-tech tools to 543 Pennsylvania high schools. In 2009, the Classrooms For the Future funding program was terminated due to a deep state revenue shortfall.

VoTech

High school aged students can attend the taxpayer funded Adams County Tech Prep [1] for training in the building trades, the culinary arts, Diesel Mechanics, allied health including Emergency Medical Technician certification and other areas. The school is located on the Gettysburg Area High School campus at 1130 Old Harrisburg Road. Adams County Tech Prep is funded by a consortium of the school districts, which includes: Gettysburg Area School District, Littlestown Area School District, Fairfield Area School District, Conewago Valley School District and Bermudian Springs School District.

Athletics

Throughout the history of Littlestown Senior High School, athletics has often been greatly emphasized through the years. Current athletic programs of the school includes:

Boys

Girls