In its annual Honor Roll ranking of southwestern Pennsylvania school districts, the Pittsburgh Business Times has ranked the Keystone Oaks School District #32 in the region. In 2020, the last year that the rankings were published due to the availability of testing data, Keystone Oaks was ranked #39. The District has jumped 23 spots since 2011, when the District was ranked #55.
“While we know that test scores are not the sole indicator of student performance and success, we continue to be proud of the work that we have done throughout the District to boost student achievement in a variety of ways, including on state assessments,” Keystone Oaks Superintendent William P. Stropkaj, Ed.D. said. “The investments that the Keystone Oaks Board of School Directors have made in curriculum, professional development, and personnel have allowed District administrators, teachers, and support staff to meet the needs of our students, by offering classroom support, enrichment opportunities, and counseling and mental health support - which we know goes a long way to helping students be successful at school.”
The ranking looks at three years of state standardized test scores and ranks the 105 regional school districts from highest-scoring to lowest-scoring based on a proprietary formula. This year’s ranking takes into account PSSA test scores from 2018, 2019 and 2021 and Keystone Exam scores from 2018 and 2019.
In 2021, the Pittsburgh Business Times published a “Decade Honor Roll,” taking into account PSSA and Keystone Exam results from 2010 - 2019. Keystone Oaks was ranked #34 out of 102 southwestern Pennsylvania school districts on that list.
“Keystone Oaks employs 257 individuals and every single one of them deserves to be commended for the effort they put in to ensuring that we can remain focused on doing what is best for the nearly 2,000 Keystone Oaks students,” Stropkaj said. “Whether they are a custodian, a building secretary, a business office staff member, classroom teacher, building principal, or an administrator - everyone plays a vital role in supporting students and providing an environment that fosters success and achievement.”