Pennsylvania Department of Education Initiatives

UpdatesMay 24, 2012

Transition to Common Core (STEM) The proposal references the Common Core Standards as the Pennsylvania Common Core Standards and requires full implementation of the PA Common Core in English Language Arts and Mathematics by July 1, 2013.

• PA Common Core• http://www.pdesas.org/Standard/CommonCore

Assessment Transition• http://www.pdesas.org/module/assessment/Keystone.aspx

• http://www.pdesas.org/module/assessment/Diagnostic.aspx

Chapter 4 Proposals:• The plan changes the security policies for the Pennsylvania System of School

Assessment by removing the current right of parents/guardians to review the exams prior to administration, except to determine whether the assessment conflicts with their religious beliefs.

• The proposal extends the current graduation requirements to the Class of 2016, and new graduation requirements will begin with the Class of 2017.

• The proposal eliminates the requirement for students to complete a culminating project in order to graduate.

• The number of Keystone Exams that will be offered will be reduced from 10 to 3, and they will be in these content areas: Algebra I, Literature and Biology.

• Two additional Keystone Exams will be required in future years contingent upon state funds being available for development of them and the project based assessment with each. Beginning with the class of 2019, students will also have to pass a Composition Keystone Exam. Beginning with the class of 2020, students will also have to pass a Civics and Government Keystone Exam.

• Therefore, beginning with the Class of 2020, students will have to pass five Keystone Exams in order to graduate.

Chapter 4 Proposals:

• Students must score proficient or above in the five required Keystone Exams in order to graduate. The exams will be stand-alone assessments and the requirement for a test score to count as one-third of the student’s grade is removed.

• Students who do not demonstrate proficiency must participate in supplemental instruction until they demonstrate proficiency on the exam or exam module complete a project-based assessment. Project-based assessments will not be developed for the five non-required Keystone Exams.

• A new “emergency waiver” option is created for 12th grade students who were not successful in completing the Keystone Exams or the project-based assessment. The chief school may request waivers from secretary of education on a case-by-case basis for good cause for those identified students.

• A chief school administrator who requests waivers for more than 10% of students who participated in a project-based assessment must submit an action plan for approval to the secretary. The plan must identify improvements that school will implement to each course associated with the Keystone Exam content for which the waivers were requested.

Chapter 4 Proposals:

• The department will develop five additional Keystone Exams that will be available for voluntary use by districts, subject to funding by the state. The tests and schedule is as follows: In school year 2016-17: Geometry; in 2017-18: U.S. History; in 2018-19: Algebra II; in 2019-20: Chemistry; and in 2020-21: World History.

• Project-based assessments will not be developed for the five non-required Keystone Exams.

Keystones

• Keystone Exams will be used for two purposes:– Proposed state requirement that the class of 2017 and

beyond demonstrate proficiency for the purpose of graduation

– Accountability as per No Child Left Behind (NCLB)• Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

Details to follow…

PSSA2012-13• Grades 3-8 Mathematics and Reading PSSA• Grade 12 retest in October• Grades 5 & 8 Writing PSSA• Grades 4 & 8 Science PSSA• No PSSA-M• Grades 3-5 Stand-alone Writing Field Test2013-14• Grades 3-5 English Language Arts PSSA• Grades 3-5 Mathematics PSSA• Grades 6-8 Mathematics and Reading PSSA• Grade 8 Writing PSSA• Grades 4 & 8 Science PSSA• Grades 6-8 Stand-alone Writing Field Test2014-15• Grades 3-8 English Language Arts PSSA• Grades 3-8 Mathematics PSSA• Grades 4 & 8 Science PSSA

PA School Report Card

Not to be confused with NCLB Report CardGovernor’s initiativePortal to be open to the public• Academic Performance (multiple measures)– PSSA, SAT, promotion rate, graduation rate, etc

• Safety• Fiscal– Return on investmentFocus groups to continue

PIMs

• Data input• Data extraction– High School Feedback Reports

Data

• Continued emphasis on data informed instruction

• On-going data meetings– Utilizing data protocols

Comprehensive Planning

• District Level– Chapter 4

• School Level– NCLB/AYPhttp://www.pasip.org/

Chapter 4 Proposal:

• The proposal removes the requirement for districts to complete state-prescribed strategic planning every six years. However, when a district’s current strategic plan is expired it will have to submit five plans currently required under other regulations to PDE for approval as follows: Every six years plans for teacher induction (Ch. 49), student services (Ch. 12) and gifted education (Ch. 16). Every three years, plans for professional development (Ch. 49), and special education (Ch. 14).

• Despite the revisions, PDE stated during the recent committee meetings that it will continue to support the CP process and web application.

Standards Aligned SystemSAS

• www.pdesas.org