PA Common Care
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8:00-8:15
Welcome/ Introductions
8:15-8:30
Keystone Overview
8:30-8:45
2011 Results/ 2012-2013
Assessment Timeline
8:45- 9:25
Explore the Common Core
9:25-9:35
Break
9:35- 10:15 Keystone Content Essential
10:15-11:00 Content Networking/Sharing
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The Keystone Exams are end-of-course
assessments designed to assess proficiency in
the subject areas of Algebra I, Algebra II,
Geometry, Literature, English Composition,
Biology, Chemistry, U.S. History, World History,
and Civics and Government.
The Keystone Exams are one component of
Pennsylvania’s new system of high school
graduation requirements. Keystone Exams will
help school districts guide students toward
meeting state standards
http://tinyurl.com/Proposed-Chapter-4Revisions
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Grades 3-8 Mathematics and Reading PSSA
Grade 12 PSSA retest in October
Grades 3-8 & 11 Mathematics and Reading
PASA
Grades 5 & 8 Writing PSSA
Grades 4 & 8 Science PSSA
Grades 4, 8 & 11 Science PASA
No PSSA-M
Grades 3-5 Stand-alone Writing Field Test
Keystone Exams
◦ Algebra I, Literature, Biology
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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)
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Accountability (Federal requirement)
◦ All 11th grade students must take all three Keystone
Exams*
◦ All non-11th grade students completing a Keystone
related course must take the appropriate Keystone
Exam
 Only 11th grade results will be used to calculate AYP
 Non-11th grade students’ results will be banked until
they’re in 11th grade
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If an 11th grade student took a Keystone
Exam in 2011 as a 9th grade student and
scored Advanced or Proficient, the results of
that Keystone will be used for purposes of
accountability.
A student who did not score Advanced or
Proficient as a 9th grade student in 2011
should retest as an 11th grade student in
2012-13.
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Graduation (State requirement)
◦ The 8th grade class in 2012-13 is the first class that
will be required to demonstrate proficiency on the
Algebra I, Literature, and Biology Keystone Exams
to graduate (class of 2017).
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Testing Windows
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Dec.3-14, 2012*
Jan. 9- 23, 2013*
May 13-24, 2013
July 29-Aug.2, 2013
PDE plans to apply for
new Annual Measurable
Objectives (AMO)
◦ Currently 89% for math and
91% for reading
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PDE Recommendation
◦ All students not taking a Keystone related course
take the Keystone Exams in the winter window –
Waves 1 and 2.
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All 11th grade students take all three
Keystones from Dec. 3-14 (Wave 1)
OR
All 11th grade students take all three
Keystones from Jan 9-23 (Wave 2)
OR
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All 11th grade students take the Algebra I and
Literature Keystones from Dec. 3-14 and take
the Biology Keystone from Jan. 9-23
OR
All 11th grade students take the Algebra I
Keystone from Dec. 3-14 and take the
Literature and Biology Keystones from Jan. 923
OR
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Any combination where all 11th grade
students not taking a Keystone related course
complete all three Keystone Exams during the
winter window’s two waves.
Date
Activity
Explanation
August 15-16, 2012
Technology Coordinator
Training
Training for CDTs and
Keystones
September 6-7, 2012
Enrollment/Materials
Training
Winter Keystones
Numbers only submitted
to DRC for Wave, Mode,
Subject, &
Accommodation
September 10-14, 2012
Enrollment Window
October 2-4, 2012
Test Set-up Training
Winter Keystones
October 8-19, 2012
Test Set-up Window
Districts can enter
student information into
eDirect
October 10 – 11, 2012
Enrollment/Materials
Training
Spring Keystone
October 15-26
Enrollment Window
Numbers only submitted
to DRC for Spring
Keystone
November 5-8, 2012
Keystone Administration
Training
Winter Keystones
(PaTTAN)
ASSESSMENT
DATES
12th Grade PSSA Retest
October 22 – November 2, 2012
Winter Wave 1 Keystone Window
December 3-14, 2012*
Winter Wave 2 Keystone Window
January 9-23, 2013*
Grades 3-5 Writing Field Test
February 4-15, 2013
Grades 5 & 8 Writing PSSA
March 11-15, 2013
Grades 5 & 8 Writing PSSA MakeUps
March 18-22, 2013
Grades 3-8 Math & Reading PSSA
April 8-19, 2013
Grades 4 & 8 Science PSSA
April 22-26, 2013
Math, Reading & Science Make-Ups April 29-May 3, 2013
Spring Keystone Window
May 13-24, 2013
Summer Keystone Window
July 29-August 2, 2013
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Grades 3-5 English Language Arts PSSA (PA CC)
Grades 3-5 Mathematics PSSA (PA CC)
Grades 6-8 Mathematics and Reading PSSA
Grades 3-8 & 11 Mathematics & Reading PASA
Grade 8 Writing PSSA
Grades 4 & 8 Science PSSA
Grades 4, 8 & 11 Science PASA
Grades 6-8 Stand-alone Writing Field Test
Keystone Exams
◦ Algebra I, Literature, Biology
◦ Composition Field Test
Keystone Exams will be used
for two purposes:
E
◦ Proposed state requirement
that the class of 2017 and
X
beyond demonstrate
A
proficiency for the purpose
M of graduation
◦ Accountability as per No
Child Left Behind (NCLB)
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K
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E
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 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
 Details pending
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Accountability (Federal requirement)
◦ All 11th grade students who have not taken the
Keystone Exams must take the Keystone Exams
◦ 2012-13 10th grade students’ banked scores
 Students who were not proficient may retest
◦ All non-11th grade students completing a
Keystone related course must take the
appropriate Keystone Exam
 Only 11th grade results will be used to calculate AYP
 Non-11th grade students’ results will be banked until
they’re in 11th grade
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Grades 3-8 English Language Arts PSSA (PA
CC)
Grades 3-8 Mathematics PSSA (PA CC)
Grades 3-8 & 11 Mathematics & Reading PASA
Grades 4 & 8 Science PSSA
Grades 4, 8 & 11 Science PASA
Keystone Exams
◦ Algebra I, Literature, Biology, Composition
◦ Civics & Government Field Test
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THE
KEYSTONE
EXAMS
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 pending

Accountability (Federal requirement)
◦ All 11th grade students who have not taken the
Keystone Exams must take the Keystone Exams
◦ 2013-14 10th grade students’ banked scores
 Students who were not proficient may retest
◦ 2012-13 9th grade students’ banked scores
 Students who were not proficient may retest
◦ All non-11th grade students completing a Keystone
related course must take the appropriate Keystone
Exam
 Only 11th grade results will be used to calculate AYP
 Non-11th grade students’ results will be banked until they’re in
11th grade
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The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led
effort coordinated by the National Governors Association
Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of
Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were
developed in collaboration with teachers, school
administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and
consistent framework to prepare our children for college
and the workforce.
The NGA Center and CCSSO received initial feedback on
the draft standards from national organizations
representing, but not limited to, teachers, postsecondary
educators (including community colleges), civil rights
groups, English language learners, and students with
disabilities. Following the initial round of feedback, the
draft standards were opened for public comment,
receiving nearly 10,000 responses.
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The standards are informed by the highest, most effective
models from states across the country and countries around the
world, and provide teachers and parents with a common
understanding of what students are expected to learn.
Consistent standards will provide appropriate benchmarks for all
students, regardless of where they live.
These standards define the knowledge and skills students should
have within their K-12 education careers so that they will
graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, creditbearing academic college courses and in workforce training
programs. The standards:
Are aligned with college and work expectations;
Are clear, understandable and consistent;
Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through
high-order skills;
Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;
Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all
students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and
society; and
Are evidence-based.
Reading
 The standards establish a “staircase” of increasing complexity in what
students must be able to read so that all students are ready for the
demands of college- and career-level reading no later than the end of
high school. The standards also require the progressive development of
reading comprehension so that students advancing through the grades
are able to gain more from whatever they read.
 Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature
as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects,
students are expected to build knowledge, gain insights, explore
possibilities, and broaden their perspective. Because the standards are
building blocks for successful classrooms, but recognize that teachers,
school districts and states need to decide on appropriate curriculum,
they intentionally do not offer a reading list. Instead, they offer
numerous sample texts to help teachers prepare for the school year and
allow parents and students to know what to expect at the beginning of
the year.
 The standards mandate certain critical types of content for all students,
including classic myths and stories from around the world, foundational
U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and the writings
of Shakespeare. The standards appropriately defer the many remaining
decisions about what and how to teach to states, districts, and schools.
Writing
 The ability to write logical arguments based on
substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant
evidence is a cornerstone of the writing standards,
with opinion writing—a basic form of argument—
extending down into the earliest grades.
 Research—both short, focused projects (such as
those commonly required in the workplace) and
longer term in depth research —is emphasized
throughout the standards but most prominently in
the writing strand since a written analysis and
presentation of findings is so often critical.
 Annotated samples of student writing accompany the
standards and help establish adequate performance
levels in writing arguments,
informational/explanatory texts, and narratives in the
various grades.
Speaking and Listening
 The standards require that students gain, evaluate, and present
increasingly complex information, ideas, and evidence through listening
and speaking as well as through media.
 An important focus of the speaking and listening standards is academic
discussion in one-on-one, small-group, and whole-class settings.
Formal presentations are one important way such talk occurs, but so is
the more informal discussion that takes place as students collaborate to
answer questions, build understanding, and solve problems.
Language
 The standards expect that students will grow their vocabularies through
a mix of conversations, direct instruction, and reading. The standards
will help students determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of
words, and steadily expand their repertoire of words and phrases.
 The standards help prepare students for real life experience at college
and in 21st century careers. The standards recognize that students must
be able to use formal English in their writing and speaking but that they
must also be able to make informed, skillful choices among the many
ways to express themselves through language.
 Vocabulary and conventions are treated in their own strand not because
skills in these areas should be handled in isolation but because their use
extends across reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
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Key Points In Mathematics
The K-5 standards provide students with a solid foundation in
whole numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
fractions and decimals—which help young students build the
foundation to successfully apply more demanding math concepts
and procedures, and move into applications.
In kindergarten, the standards follow successful international
models and recommendations from the National Research
Council’s Early Math Panel report, by focusing kindergarten work
on the number core: learning how numbers correspond to
quantities, and learning how to put numbers together and take
them apart (the beginnings of addition and subtraction).
The K-5 standards build on the best state standards to provide
detailed guidance to teachers on how to navigate their way
through knotty topics such as fractions, negative numbers, and
geometry, and do so by maintaining a continuous progression
from grade to grade.
The standards stress not only procedural skill but also
conceptual understanding, to make sure students are learning
and absorbing the critical information they need to succeed at
higher levels - rather than the current practices by which many
students learn enough to get by on the next test, but forget it
shortly thereafter, only to review again the following year.
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Having built a strong foundation K-5, students can do hands on learning
in geometry, algebra and probability and statistics. Students who have
completed 7th grade and mastered the content and skills through the
7th grade will be well-prepared for algebra in grade 8.
The middle school standards are robust and provide a coherent and rich
preparation for high school mathematics.
The high school standards call on students to practice applying
mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges; they
prepare students to think and reason mathematically.
The high school standards set a rigorous definition of college and career
readiness, by helping students develop a depth of understanding and
ability to apply mathematics to novel situations, as college students and
employees regularly do.
The high school standards emphasize mathematical modeling, the use
of mathematics and statistics to analyze empirical situations, understand
them better, and improve decisions. For example, the draft standards
state: “Modeling links classroom mathematics and statistics to everyday
life, work, and decision-making. It is the process of choosing and using
appropriate mathematics and statistics to analyze empirical situations,
to understand them better, and to improve decisions. Quantities and
their relationships in physical, economic, public policy, social and
everyday situations can be modeled using mathematical and statistical
methods. When making mathematical models, technology is valuable for
varying assumptions, exploring consequences, and comparing
predictions with data.”
http://www.pdesas.org/Standard/CommonCore
http://www.corestandards.org
http://www.achieve.org/achieving-common-core
www.nsdle.org/commoncore/math
http://map.mathsell.org/materials/index.php
www.ncte.org/standards/commoncore
Learning the rules and practicing the skills
needed for the game.
“ when conducting training sessions, there
needs to be a greater reliance on game
oriented training that is player centered and
enables players to explore and arrive at
solutions while they play. This is in contrast to
the “coach centered” training that has been the
mainstay of coaching methodology over the
years”
United States Soccer Federation
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“Game centered training” implies that the primary
training environment is the game as opposed to
training players in “drill” type environments. This
is not to say that there is not a time for a more
“direct” approach to coaching. At times, players
need more guidance and direction as they are
developing. However, if the goal is to develop
creative players who have the abilities to solve
problems, and interpret game situations by
themselves, a “guided discovery approach needs
to be employed.
http://www.pdesas.org/module/assessment/Keystone.aspx#
Which is the most useful resource? why?
Research, explore, develop strategies you can
use in your classroom and school to prepare
your students for success on the keystone
exams.
 Content Specific/ Exchange Across Content
 Report Out/ Compile