Hi Kaitlyn,
I believe what you're doing is the best possible via native Workfront reporting in that only the current Project Status is tracked (although technically, so is Project Previous Status) vs the "Project Status over time" you seek, so instead (as one option), suggest you consider setting up specific Hour Types (e.g. Scoping, Active, etc.) and teaching your team to choose the correct value as part of their time entry so you can in turn then summarize the hours by Project and by Hour Type.
Regards,
Doug