Assessment Q & A from PAIUCC Meeting October 17, 2013
Questions raised by PAIUCC and other related issues.
1. Can multiple courses in the same content area trigger the same Keystone exams
for different students (e.g. can Biology, Honors Biology, and AP Biology all trigger
the Biology Keystone since different students are taking the courses?
Yes. Each course so designated must be coded as a Keystone course in PIMS.
If a student takes one of the advanced courses after taking a “traditional” Biology course
and Keystone exam, they will not have to retest if they previously passed the exam.
Therefore, some students in an AP Biology Course may be required to take the exam while
others will not. Only students enrolled in the Keystone course with a Keystone exam score
are included in PVAAS school reporting and teacher specific reporting.
2. Can two courses in different content areas trigger the same Keystone Exam (e.g.
English 10 and American History) if the eligible content is addressed in both
courses? How will this be attributed in PIMS and PVAAS?
No. While some of the ELA standards are supported by instruction in other content areas
the majority of them are not. The Literature eligible content includes literary and
informational text from a balance of classic and contemporary literature. They require
students to read analyze and interpret text using a variety of literary strategies that are not
typically addressed in other courses. See PVAAS Pilot FAQ questions, 3.7 and 3.8 as well.
There are also HQT implications i.e. assigning instructional responsibility for ELA content
to an American History teacher could also have unintended consequences for an LEA.
Teachers of Record that are assigned instructional responsibility for ELA must be
appropriately certified in accordance with State regulation and HQT in accordance with
Federal regulation.
3. A 9th grade student is enrolled in a "Keystone" course as identified in
PIMS. Based on benchmark testing and other data, it is determined that this
student is not ready to take the Keystone Exam. Can the school not administer
the Keystone Exam to this student the end of ninth grade, re-enroll him in the
Keystone course for tenth grade and then have that student test his 10th grade
year?
No. If the student is enrolled in the keystone related course they must take the exam. If
they drop the course, then no. If they fail the course and repeat it they would take the test
again. Course grades or benchmark performance is not relevant. Did any of that excuse a
student from the final in the past?
Some LEAs have different paths for different students...some may get a one year or block
Algebra 1 course, while others may be in an two-year sequence as in Alg 1A then Alg 1B.
Both can serve as Keystone courses for an LEA.
Instead, there may be a need for the LEA to really look at their criteria for when they put
students into an Algebra I course to begin with. Are they using the PVAAS Student
Projections to Algebra I as another indicator for that decision. How does the LEA decide
who goes into Algebra I and when they go into Algebra I?
4. Can we get clarification on statements being made that PDE used the wrong cut
scores for the 12-13 PSSA? We know that an incorrect administration manual
was being used (the manual was removed from the PDE website, but it still
accessible via cached files).
Concerning the cut scores, PDE did NOT use the wrong cut scores for the 12-13 PSSA. A
printing error resulted in the wrong scores being published, but please rest assured that
PDE did NOT use incorrect cut scores.
5. Can we get clarification on the standards and eligible content being assessed on
the 2013-2014 PSSA? There appears to be conflicting information circulating
about this subject. We were under the impression that PA Core Standards would
be field test items and only PA Academic Standards would be assessed on the
PSSA this year. But some folks are being told differently.
The PA Core Standards will not be tested “operationally” until 2015. They will be field
tested in 2014. There is an item sampler for grades 3-5 that has a publication date of 20132014 on it. But that is only the date the document was published.
FYI: Only the PA Academic Standards that are also PA Core Standards will be assessed
“operationally”.
6. Can a district decide not to code their Algebra I course as the trigger course for
Keystone Algebra I, but rather code Algebra II as their trigger course. Essentially,
this would mean that no kids would take Algebra I Keystone at the end of the
course. Kids would take Algebra I Keystone at the end of Algebra II.
No. Keystone exams are end of course exams. As such, they should be given toward the
end of a course or series of courses (e.g. Algebra 1B, Algebra 1B; or Pre-Algebra, Algebra;
etc.). that cover the assessment anchors and eligible content for Algebra 1, Literature or
Biology.
7. The students that did not pass the Algebra I Keystone Exam last year are
currently enrolled in a remedial Algebra I course entitled "Foundations of
Algebra". It is a year-long course that addresses all of the content of a traditional
Algebra I course as well as the Keystone Eligible Content. The difference between
the course and a regular course is the delivery model. The teacher utilizes
technology almost daily to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the
students. Assignments are adapted more frequently than in a traditional course
as well to meet the needs of the students as identified by their performance on
both the CDT and the previous Keystone Exam.
With all of that being said, my question/concern is whether or not this course is a
"trigger" course and should be considered as a Keystone-Related Course? I would like
the performance of these students to be reflected positively on the SPP as well PVAAS
reporting. Both will give these students an opportunity to demonstrate growth and
success on the Keystone Exam. In summary, when the students re-take the Keystone
Exam in the spring, should they indicate that they are in a Keystone-Related Course?
The answer is yes (that description meets the requirement for a Keystone related course)
and they should also code the course in PIMS as a Keystone related course. Finally, adults,
not students, should bubble the Keystone Course indicator on the answer document.
8. The following text is taken from the current (Winter 2013-14 Handbook for
Assessment Coordinators regarding the “Enrolled in a Keystone Course bubble”:
PART IV – COMPLETING STUDENT INFORMATION
Federal and state accountability measures require the collection of specific student data at
the time of testing, including data for students who are not participating and students who
are exempt from participation due to special circumstances. To ensure student privacy and
data accuracy for the assessments, this information must be reported by school personnel
on the answer booklet or on eDIRECT for online testers after testing is completed.
1. GRADE AND COURSE COMPLETION
The Grade grid on page 1 of the answer booklet must be completed for all students taking a
paper Keystone Exam using a District/School Label. For students taking an online Keystone
Exam, grade must be provided via eDIRECT (Test Setup > Students) for any student who
does not have PIMS data.
The Complete for All Students grid on page 1 of the answer booklet distinguishes
students who are currently enrolled in a Keystone-related course from those students that
had completed the course in the past. It is essential that this grid is completed for ALL
students by school personnel.
If a student is currently enrolled in a Keystone-related course and is taking the
corresponding exam, darken the first bubble. If a student is not currently enrolled in a
Keystone-related course but is taking the exam for other purposes, darken the second
bubble. This grid must be completed for ALL students with precode labels and students
using District/School Labels.
Note: For students testing online, the Keystone-related course data is maintained in
eDIRECT. All eDIRECT student records are defaulted to “Yes” for enrollment in a
Keystone-related course. If an online tester is not enrolled in a Keystone-related course,
school personnel must update the data using the “Edit Student” function in eDIRECT (Test
Setup > Students). On the “Edit Student” dialogue box for a student, choose the Testing
Codes tab and click the checkbox to indicate that the student is not currently enrolled in a
Keystone-related course but is taking the exam for other purposes.
PDE acknowledges that many districts/schools may not have a specific course entitled
“Literature.” In these cases, PDE recommends that students in grade 10 take the Literature
Keystone Exam. Districts should consult the Literature Keystone Exams Assessment
Anchors/Eligible Content (found on the PDE website at www.education.state.pa.us) to
ensure alignment with the curriculum used in the schools. Click on State Assessment
System on the home page next to the large green check mark, then Keystone Exams.
LEAs approved to participate in the correction cycle will be able to correct this field for last
year beginning on October 28 until November 1. (NOTE: These dates are still tentative.
LEAs will be notified once this is official.)
In the future LEAs will be able to make corrections during the normal correction cycles.