Recently, the current PA secretary of Education stated that "Six years ago it appeared as though Pittsburgh schools were in an irreversible downward spiral." This comment led to the compilation of the second set of charts titled “PPS PSSA Scores From 2000-09”. These charts clearly indicate that the PPS were not in an “irreversible downward spiral," but in fact were in an upward trend on which the current administration (which started at the midpoint of the charts, in August 2005) has been able to build.