Standardized Tests in PA

PA System of School Assessment (PSSA)

Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)  includes assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics which are taken by students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Students in grades 4 and 8 are administered the Science PSSA. The English Language Arts and Mathematics PSSAs include items that are consistent with the Assessment Anchors/Eligible Content aligned to the Pennsylvania Core Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The Science PSSA includes items that are aligned to the Assessment Anchors/Eligible Content aligned to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science, Technology, Environment and Ecology.

Keystone Exams

Keystone Exams are end–of-course assessments in designated content areas. The Keystone Exams serve two purposes: (1) high school accountability assessments for federal and state purposes, and (2) high school graduation requirements for students beginning with the class of 2017. The Algebra I and Literature Keystone Exams include items written to the Assessment Anchors/Eligible Content aligned to the Pennsylvania Core Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The Biology Keystone Exam includes items written to the Assessment Anchor/Eligible Content aligned to the enhanced Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science.

Classroom Diagnostic Tools

The Classroom Diagnostic Tools (CDT) is a set of online assessments, divided by content area, designed to provide diagnostic information in order to guide instruction and remediation. The CDT reporting system is fully integrated in the Standards Aligned System (SAS). It assists educators in supporting student academic strengths, and areas in need of improvement, by providing links to classroom resources. The diagnostic reports feature easy-to-follow links to targeted curricular resources and materials, including units and lesson plans found within the SAS system. The CDT is available to districts at no cost.

PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA)

Pennsylvania Alternative System of Assessment (PASA) is a statewide alternate assessment designed for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Specifically, it is intended for those who are unable to participate meaningfully in the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) even with accommodations. By administering the PASA to students with severe disabilities, schools achieve compliance with federal laws and the Pennsylvania School Code that require that all students participate in the statewide accountability system.

National and International Assessments

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the national representative assessment of what America's students know and can do in core subject areas. Teachers, administrators, parents, policymakers and researchers all use NAEP results to assess progress and develop ways to improve education in America. Performance is reported by groups of students, e.g. by total, by gender, by racial and ethnic groups, and by participation in special programs such as those servicing students with special needs and limited English proficiency.

SAT and ACT Scores

Continue to SAT and ACT Information...

Kindergarten Entry Inventory

The Kindergarten Entry Inventory offers teachers an instructional strategy for understanding and tracking students' proficiency across both cognitive and non-cognitive domains at kindergarten entry. The Kindergarten Entry Inventory is aligned to the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards and Pennsylvania Core, and therefore it complements and can help improve existing assessments and teaching practices.

Analyzing and Reporting the Data

PA Accountability System (PAS)

The Pennsylvania Accountability System (PAS)  applies to all public schools and districts. It is based upon the State's content and achievement standards, valid and reliable measures of academic achievement, and other key indicators of school and district performance such as attendance and graduation rates. The Pennsylvania Accountability System meets federal and state requirements.

PA Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS)

The Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS) is a statistical analysis of Pennsylvania (PA) state assessment data, and provides Pennsylvania districts and schools with growth data to add to achievement data. This lens of measuring student learning provides educators with valuable information to ensure they are meeting the academic needs of groups of students, as well as individual students. PVAAS is one of a cadre of tools provided to districts from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Districts and schools use PVAAS (growth data), in conjunction with achievement data, to make sure students are on the path to proficiency and beyond.

Required Federal Reporting Measures (RFRM)

As part of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Pennsylvania's ESEA waiver was approved on Aug. 20, 2013. The purpose of the Required Federal Reporting Measures (RFRM)  is to report federal reporting measures as identified in the waiver. The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) "must prepare and disseminate an annual report card (ESEA section 111(h)(1) and (h)(2)".

Accommodations

Accommodations are practices and procedures that ensure that educators, as well as students and parents, have a valid measure of what students with disabilities know and can do. Accommodations use is applied to classroom instruction. In addition, students with IEPs, 504 plans, and ESL plans may be provided with assessment accommodations. 

Accommodations do not reduce expectations for learning. 

Accommodations provided to a student during state assessments must also be provided during classroom instruction, classroom assessments, and district assessments. However, some instructional accommodations may not be appropriate for use on certain statewide assessments. It is critical that educators become familiar with state policies about the appropriate use of accommodations during assessments. 

Typically, accommodations use does not begin and end in school. Students who use accommodations will generally also need them at home, in the community, and as they get older, in postsecondary education and at work. As ELLs become more proficient in English, their need for accommodations will decrease. 

Description of Accommodations Categories 

Presentation Accommodations—Allow students to access print information in alternate ways. These alternate modes of access are auditory, multi-sensory, tactile, and visual. 

Response Accommodations—Allow students to complete activities, assignments, and assessments in different ways or to solve or organize problems using some type of assistive device or organizer. 

Setting Accommodations—Change the location in which a test or assignment is given or the conditions of the assessment setting.

Timing/Scheduling Accommodations—Increase the allowable length of time to complete an assessment or assignment and perhaps change the way the time is organized.

Your Right: Religious Exemption

In Pennsylvania, parents are permitted to "opt their children out" of state and federal testing. There is a specific process:

1. Request an opportunity to review the PSSA at the school.

2. If requested, sign a confidentiality agreement not reveal test contents.

3. Review the test in the presence of district personnel.

4. Give the school a letter addressed to the Superintendent informing him or her that your child is exempt from taking the test because it is in conflict with your religious beliefs. The letter can also be dropped off at the District office.

Sample letter: 

"Under Pennsylvania Code Title 22 Chapter 4, section 4(d)(5), I am informing the school district that my child is exempted from PSSA testing on religious grounds. "

That is all you have to say. You cannot, under law, be questioned about your beliefs or be denied the exemption.

Opt Out for Special Needs/Exceptional Students

Guide for Opting Out/Refusing High Stakes Testing and Test Preparation for Special Needs/Exceptional Students.

By Merry Juerling

Original document here.

Yes, parents and IEP Case Conference Committees can absolutely opt out or refuse HST (high stakes tests) and test preparation for a special needs child via the IEP meeting.

You have to advocate for a special needs child's rights to an education free of high stakes testing and test preparation that has no relevance to their actual learning or actual growth as learners. I have never heard of or seen one IEP goal that was measurable by a HST.

The IEP software each of state will probably never have a category for parent opts out/refuses child to participate in standardized testing and test preparation within the IEP section on standardized state testing. With the current teacher assessments tied to HST, the IEP systems definitely won't have an option for teacher opts child out of/refuses child to participate in standardized testing and test preparation. Professional educators know it is unethical to test a child using only one test and so does the ethical standards (Joint Standards) of the testing profession, yet this is exactly what is happening - unethical assessment of all students.

Read your state laws concerning testing and federal laws concerning testing. Your state opt out/refusal guide can be found at www.unitedoptout.com.

The IDEA states:

If the IEP Team determines that the child must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular state or district-wide assessment of student achievement, a statement of why--

(A) The child cannot participate in the regular assessment; and

(B) The particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child.

During the IEP Case Conference Committee meeting, when the topic of why the child cannot participate in the regular assessment (item A above) is addressed, refer to the following:

Respectfully request the child's Teacher of Record (TOR) include the following #1 through #4 in the notes of the IEP:

1. When it is the Case Conference Committee's right and responsibility to determine a "free and appropriate education" for special needs children (no one else’s, not the state, not the federal government, not a district administrator or anyone else who does not know the child) and no one on the Case Conference Committee can see a high stakes test before it is administered to determine the appropriateness to the individual student's challenges, then no one on the Case Conference Committee can say it is appropriate; therefore, the Case Conference Committee cannot determine its appropriateness. Therefore, a high stakes standardized test cannot be used or even considered.

2. The “high stakes” of high stakes standardized testing has created hostile working and learning environments <insert your own examples here specific to your child>. Hostile working environments can create stressed-out staff. It is difficult for staff to administer these tests without their own anxiety being apparent; this occurs with teachers working with the general population as well, not just special needs students

3. These tests only reliably and statistically predict race, poverty and special needs patterns. The Case Conference Committee already knows the statistics of the child and does not need a HST to tell them something they already know.

4. For these reasons above and many more, HST are NOT appropriate for any child, let alone a special needs child, but most importantly - the parents reserve and exercise their parental rights and child's rights to opt out/refuse the child’s participation in all standardized test and test preparation.

To explain why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child (item B above) list the Case Conference Committee's list of appropriate assessments for the child and reasons why. Some examples are:

Grades: The student’s grades are an assessment of student work and course assessments over time. Professional educators grade student's work and course assessments, therefore, this is an appropriate assessment.

Observations by professional educators: A student's general education teacher, special needs teacher, <insert any and all service providers from IEP> observations are an appropriate assessment of a child's progress; these professionals have multiple contacts with students over time.

Portfolio: A portfolio of a student's work is an appropriate assessment demonstrating the growth of a learner over time.

More examples can be found here: http://unitedoptout.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/portfolio-letter.pdf

Read all of the pages of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards; this is the document that you are supposed to be handed at every Case Conference you attend. Also, have them show you the notes section before they save it on to their computer. Have them put the IEP on a projector as you go through the IEP during the IEP meeting. If possible, send them the information to be added to the notes section via email before the meeting or bring the information on a thumb drive. You may even want to write a letter with the above information and demand that the letter be uploaded to the IEP itself as a pdf file – and yes, they can do this.

If they say, "We can't do that," be prepared to say, "Are you prepared to put in writing your reasons for refusing to allow my child a free and appropriate education? What are the appropriate alternatives you suggest and how they are appropriate?"

If they can't or won't add the notes suggested here, file a DUE PROCESS. Your child is worth it!

In regard to consequences for opting out/refusing HST – yes - there can be consequences for opting your special needs child out of inappropriate high stakes testing. If you are harassed or feel that your child is being treated unfairly, your state has special needs federally funded organizations (look on the last page of Notice of Procedural Rights) to support you. For referrals to parent advocates or an attorney search for "Disability Legal Services" in your state.

When contacting advocates, be prepared to talk about your knowledge of Due Process at your IEP Case Conference and be prepared to file Due Process. I had to file Due Process after being told, We cannot discuss the state test with you and if you have any questions you must contact the school district superintendent or state DOE Assessment Chief Officer. I filed on all members of Case Conference, Superintendent and State DOE Assessment Chief Officer. Soon after, my child's IEP included the following listed in the IEP note section: Mother reserves the right to opt child out of standardize testing and test preparation. My child did not take the state high stakes standardized test. My special needs child's education and mental health was worth it. Advocate for your child.

Document prepared by:

Merry Juerling

Parent Power Indianapolis

Education Community Action Team

United Opt Out National Member

Resources:

How to Opt Out verbiage in federal law, IDEA Part 300, D, 300.320, a, 6, ii, A and B:

http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cregs%2C300%2CD%2C300%252E320%2Ca%2C

About Notice of Procedural Safeguards in federal law, IDEA:

http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cstatute%2CI%2CB%2C615%2Cd%2C

Research your state's laws concerning special education assessments.

Check out your state's Department of Education website and search Notice of Procedural Safeguards