Keystone Exams 2.0

We've moved from GCA's over to Keystone Exams and now onto Keystone Exams 2.0. It looks like the Keystone Exams 2.0 is gathering the momentum it needs from various groups to possibly be the solution that is adopted by the state.

Below is an article from the Post-Gazette that outlines some of the changes from the GCA and the Keystone Exam 1.0 proposals:

Graduation tests gaining momentum

Monday, April 27, 2009

By Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In less than three months, the moratorium on changing state graduation requirements will be over, leaving the state board of education open to take the next step toward state-required exams for graduation.

The idea of graduation competency exams once was so controversial that more than 20 statewide organizations opposed it, about 200 school boards passed resolutions against it and state legislators blocked the state Board of Education from acting on changing graduation requirements.

Now even groups that opposed a graduation competency exam are lining up in favor of variations on the theme of state-created, end-of-course tests for high school students.

A key difference is how much the exams -- expected to cost millions of dollars to develop -- will count.

The latest proposal -- called Keystone Exams 2.0 -- was announced last week by the Coalition of Effective and Responsible Testing, a group of statewide organizations including the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers in Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania PTA.

In this proposal, school districts voluntarily would have their students take end-of-course tests, but the tests could count for no more than 20 percent of the grade.

If the federal government were to permit the state to use the tests for meeting the standards of No Child Left Behind, then current 11th-grade state tests would be discontinued and the end-of-course tests would become mandatory.

Joseph Torsella, chairman of the state board of education, expects the board to take up the issue as soon as the moratorium is lifted at the end of June. Its next meeting will be July 15 and 16 at the University of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Torsella called the latest proposal "a good contribution to the conversation" and said he will be meeting with its proponents this week to get more details.

It's too early to tell what the board will do, but Mr. Torsella said, "In the end, the board will be guided by what we think is going to be best for Pennsylvania graduates."

In a push for stronger graduation requirements, the state board of education nearly a year ago made an initial publication of regulations calling for students to pass six of 10 "graduation competency assessments" in math, language arts, social studies and science; the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests; Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams; or a local assessment that independent evaluators certify is equivalent to the graduation competency assessments. It would start in the 2013-14 school year.

Last month, the state Department of Education and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association reached a compromise called Keystone Exams.

This plan would start a year later, aim to preserve local control and emphasize the exams would be voluntary. It also would split the cost of validating local assessments between the state and local districts, instead of putting the cost solely on the local districts.

With the addition of the Keystone Exams 2.0 proposal, Mr. Torsella said, "What's clear to me is that the conversation has really advanced and there's sort of a universal recognition that we are not doing right by our high school graduates, that there's a place for the new Keystones and that we ought to have meaningful accountability behind what we should be doing and what we should be expecting."

Last week, state Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said he appreciated the participation of the coalition but said he was worried that counting the tests for only 20 percent of the grade would remove the assurance that students have appropriate skills.

While he was "gratified" the latest plan includes Keystone Exams, Tim Allwein, PSBA assistant director of governmental and member relations, also questioned whether counting the exams for just 20 percent would offer the necessary assurance.

Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, chair of the Senate Education Committee, issued a statement calling the proposal "a step in the right direction" although he didn't "find the substance necessarily rigorous enough within this alternative proposal."

One of the early supporters of graduation competency exams, Joan Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said she, too, found it encouraging more groups are proposing final exams, but she worries their weight in the latest proposal "may not be high enough to have young people take them seriously."

PSEA treasurer Jerry Oleksiak said the latest proposal "provides for high-quality, end-of-course exams that will help children and will also help school districts that need to improve their local assessment systems. That's the best way to ensure a meaningful high school diploma."

Some local school board members wonder whether the Keystone Exams are necessary at all.

West Jefferson Hills school board member Shauna D'Alessandro views the latest proposal as a "step in the right direction" because it would replace tests, not add them.

However, she doesn't think the new tests are needed.

"We already know which students need help. We know that from the PSSA," she said, referring to the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests given in math, reading, writing and science in selected grades.

Nor does she think the state can afford the millions of dollars to pay for them. "The money could be used for initiatives to improve student achievement," she said.

Pine-Richland school board member Therese Dawson said the results of the current state tests could be used better.

"That's the launch point," she said. "We already have achievement benchmarks in place. We just need to use them."

Alan Lesgold, dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, said the 20 percent figure might work as an "incremental approach" to measuring how well students do.

"The problem you've got is districts aren't doing as well as they might in getting kids educated well. If you suddenly implement high-stakes exams and kids can't graduate, you're penalizing the kids for the failures of the school system," Dr. Lesgold said.

Education writer Eleanor Chute can be reached at echute@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1955.

First published on April 27, 2009 at 12:00 am

I believe the 2.0 exams are a huge improvement from the original GCAs and the original Keystone Exams. These tests are voluntary and, if you do choose to employ them, would replace the 11th grade PSSA test. This means it would not be an additional achievement test, it would replace an existing one. Additionally, while counting for 20% of a final grade, it is not used as the only criteria to see if a student is ready to graduate.

I am not sure if the Pennsylvania Department of Education is going to let go of the idea of having a required high school exit exam. It is a way for them to better control the curriculum they think should be taught to our students. It will be up to our State legislature to determine what direction to take. I look forward to seeing what proposals are put up for our representatives.

Thanks for reading.

James