Eleanor Chute. "MORE STATE TESTING ON HORIZON FOR STUDENTS THIS YEAR. " Pittsburgh Post - Gazette 20 Sep. 2010,US & Midwestern Newspapers, ProQuest. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.
This school year, end-of-course tests called Keystone Exams will be added to the picture for secondary students, becoming part of graduation requirements for the Class of 2015.The state plans to develop 10 Keystone Exams in math, English, social studies and science.In addition, Pennsylvania is involved in two national consortia that are working on new ways to assess what students know. Both won a total of $330 million in the federal Race to the Top competition to develop new tests.Currently, PSSA tests are given in math and reading in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 as well as writing in grades 5, 8 and 11 and science in grades 4, 8 and 11.Last year, the state Board of Education approved new graduation requirements calling for the end-of-course exams.The Board of Education just last week said it would allow school districts to use the Keystones as the local assessment without the cost of validation if they require students to be proficient, a tougher standard than using it as a portion of the grade.The state board has also approved "assessment anchors" and eligible content for all three exams. The anchors and content provide a basic outline of what students are expected to know.For example, in biology, an anchor calls for students to be able to "describe how the unique properties of water support life on Earth." The eligible content includes the freezing point, high specific heat and cohesion.Pennsylvania is among 26 states in one of the consortia, Partnership for Assessment for College and Careers -- known as PARCC -- and among 31 states in the other, called the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium.Pennsylvania's participation in the consortia does not guarantee Pennsylvania will use the tests. That choice will be made when state officials know more about what the tests look like.But he said the state needs the Keystones now. "What we can't do is sit around and wait for a national solution to the problem. We have to worry about Pennsylvania kids," he said.
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