Neshaminy's PSSA scores have improved and Neshaminy High School has made adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the first time ever, and according to school board President Ritchie Webb, this is due in part to a policy change the board made last year.

The school board passed a new policy mandating PSSA proficiency as a graduation requirement, which Webb said supported the efforts of the high school teachers.

"The other change which I think made a difference was you," Webb said to the Neshaminy community at a Q&A session Monday night.

"Over the past few years, you have been tremendously interested in the quality of the district's education and you have demanded that our teachers, our administrators and this board stand accountable for these results," he said.

During a presentation in an October 2011 school board meeting, it was revealed that the high school had not made AYP in 7 consecutive years. 

"While not everyone in our district believed this mandate was a good idea, it certainly appears to have had an immediate, positive effect. I hope this new policy will continue to reinforce the importance of what the staff is teaching our children in the classroom," Webb stated in a previous board meeting.

Despite Neshaminy's improvement, statewide PSSA scores declined slightly from last year, Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis said in a press release.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, statewide, 75.7 percent of students performed at-or-above grade level in math; 71.9 percent of students performed at-or-above grade level in reading; 73.2 percent of students performed at-or-above grade level in writing; and 61.4 percent of students performed at-or-above grade level in science.

“Compared to the 2010-11 results, the 2011-12 the percent of proficient or advanced students declined by 1.4 percentage points in math and 1.6 percentage points in reading,” Tomalis said.

Here are Neshaminy's 2011-12 PSSA scores broken down by each school:

Review PSSA results on the Pennsylvania Department of Education website.

Click here to view Neshaminy's test scores from the 2010-11 school year.