Leo Stober, an eighth grader at Science Leadership Academy Middle School, is frustrated. He’s thinking about applying to selective Philadelphia School District high schools, but the process is now stymied by what officials said was a delay in the release of state test scores.
So Leo sat in front of the Philadelphia school board Thursday night to air his concerns.
Not having access to scores “is quite frankly disrespectful, not only to the students, but also to the teachers,” Leo said.
Students are anxious to hear how their 2026 PSSA performance will shape the schools open to them, and teachers need the scores “to find which students need extra help on certain assignments,” he said.
A student’s test scores determine which schools they’re eligible to apply to: Central and Masterman require scores in the 80th percentile to apply, for instance.
The district’s school selection process was supposed to open Sept. 8. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. pushed it back to Oct. 5, blaming the change on the state’s public release of PSSA test results.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education sent preliminary scores to districts and schools in the spring, as it always does — one charter school official told the school board she received her early test results on June 10.
But Philadelphia appears to be alone in the state in withholding scores from nearly all of its employees. Watlington, who has placed a high public priority on the district being the fastest-improving large urban district in the U.S., has said the delay ties to PDE pushing back its release of final statewide data to districts.
Watlington said Thursday night that scores won’t be available when the application window opens in a week and and a half, but said he realizes “that changing the timeline may require families to adjust their plans, and we absolutely appreciate their patience as we work through this.”
Scores will be available by the time the application window closes, on Nov. 24, Watlington said.
Central and Masterman are only two of the 37 schools that require scores.
Scores in the 65th percentile qualify students for Academy at Palumbo, George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science, Parkway Center City Middle College, and Northeast High’s International Baccalaureate and magnet programs. Other schools require scores in the 50th percentile or better.
A student board representative asked Watlington if the shift would cause the district to consider going “test optional” — allowing students to decide whether they want to submit standardized test scores, or withhold them.
“We’re not going to test optional,” Watlington said. “We will likely continue with what we’re doing.”
$600,000 for a Kensington High project fix
In other matters, the board voted unanimously to ratify — formally approve a contract that was already awarded — a $600,000 deal with a firm now charged with monitoring construction work at Kensington High.
Hunter Roberts Construction Group is providing independent oversight and monitoring of the work at Kensington, which has been plagued with problems.
Errors on an HVAC project at Kensington caused asbestos damage that forced the district to close the building to students, who had to be moved to a closed middle school in the Northeast, over some neighbors’ objections.
The contractor “is expected to comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, legal requirements for the proper abatement and disposal of asbestos and/or any other hazardous material,” the board resolution approving the contract said. Hunter Roberts began work on the project on Aug. 27, according to the documents.
Last year, the district was criminally charged over its past handling of asbestos at city schools. After a yearslong secret probe, the school board signed off in June 2025 on a deferred prosecution agreement that comes with strict federal scrutiny of its environmental management.
Philadelphia was the first school district in the U.S. that faced criminal charges for environmental violations.
Hunter Roberts’ contract on the Kensington project runs through 2028.
9.5% raises over 3 years for 32BJ
The board also gave final approval to a contract for 32BJ, the union representing district bus drivers, cleaners, building engineers and tradespeople.
The pact gives 32BJ’s 2,000 members 9.5% raises over three years. They’ll also get $2,350 in bonuses and 25 paid days off after the birth of a child – the first time parental leave was granted to those workers.
