The Springfield High School continues to pave its way as one of the elite secondary schools in Delaware County as the student body continues to make strides in assessment testing scores.

“Our time, energy, and resources are invested in improving instructional, assessment, and student classroom experiences,” Principal Joseph Hepp said. “These efforts are yielding consistent performance levels not only on classroom and state assessments but on national standardized assessments like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and AP Exams.”

The Springfield High School has seen improvements in all major assessment testing. In the Keystone Exams, students range in 18.7-21.4% better than other Pennsylvanian students in Algebra I, Literature, and Biology. As Springfield students take the updated version of the SAT that focuses on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing along with Math, they continue to thrive as they average an 1127—67 points better than the national average.

There has been a five-year trend of improved Advanced Placement and ACT scores, where Springfield students are consistently higher than both the state and national averages. The trend of improving ACT scores is highlighted by one Springfield student’s rare achievement. One of Springfield’s own, senior Carson Shaner, achieved a perfect score on the ACT, which places him in a group of less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students.

It’s hard to pinpoint one reason why the SHS has seen a positive trend in scores on the Keystone Exams, the SAT, the ACT, and AP tests.

The Springfield School District prides itself on preparing kids for higher level thinking, and in the high school, they have made a stronger emphasis on the curriculum offered to students. Faculty and staff are more committed to teaching subjects and topics that would raise awareness and prepare students to excel on the various standardized tests. The Springfield School District received valued feedback from its community on what students wanted to learn such as focusing on certain types of math problems that would be seen on AP, SAT, or ACT tests.

The College and Career Academy also plays a large factor into a student’s success. The Academy is the backbone of the Springfield High School, and with its guidance, it helps set students on the pathway to higher education. The Academy provides a solid foundation in a student’s curriculum, and places an emphasis on post-secondary readiness by making a connection between academic learning and real-life application.

The Springfield School District knows that a student’s success is not just based on what they learn in the classroom. In order for a student to succeed, they need to be well-rounded. Here at Springfield, we want a student to have a healthy balance between what happens in the classroom as well as what happens outside the classroom. We encourage students to become members of organized clubs as well as volunteer their time back to the community that helped shape them. Springfield also has created a healthy and safe environment for students to thrive in and be the best that they can be.

By instructing students to think outside the box and ramping up the stakes in classrooms, increased test scores are a natural byproduct for the Springfield High School.

“The faculty, staff, and students continue to impress our communities with their focus, commitment, and dedication to achievement, growth, and success,” Principal Joseph Hepp said. “Each year the administration challenges them to take performance to the next level and they continue to deliver.”