Keystone exams postponed

Posted 8/21/12

On February 3, Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law Senate Bill 880, which will delay the requirement for graduating students to pass a set of tests called the Keystone Exams or, if they fail, produce a …

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Keystone exams postponed

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On February 3, Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law Senate Bill 880, which will delay the requirement for graduating students to pass a set of tests called the Keystone Exams or, if they fail, produce a project related to the exam areas. The exams focus on algebra I, biology and literature. The legislation says the exams will not be used to determine whether a student graduates any sooner than the school year of 2018-19.

There have been issues with the implementation of the tests, which were initially approved by the state legislature in 2013, with as many as 126,000 students failing them, straining resources across the state as districts try to manage such a large number of students taking on special projects in lieu of passing the exams.

Wolf said, “While we should have high academic and educational standards in the commonwealth, there have been issues with the implementation of the Keystone exams, which is why I am signing a bill to delay their use as a graduation requirement. My administration is currently engaging teachers, administrators and students, community leaders, stakeholders and advocates from around the state to develop a comprehensive school accountability system that will support schools and help Pennsylvania students succeed.”

Before getting to the governor’s desk, it was unanimously passed by both the State House and the Senate, showing that the Pennsylvania Senate is one of the governing bodies in a number of states recognizing that high-stakes testing has become too prominent in the era of Common Core Standards, producing a negative impact on the classroom.

When the legislation passed the Senate in January, Pennsylvania State Education Association president Jerry Oleksiak issued the following statement:

“Passage of this legislation continues the progress we’ve been making in Pennsylvania and across the country in moving away from overreliance on standardized tests.

“Our members know from solid research and from our own classroom experience that forcing kids to take too many high-stakes standardized tests takes time away from actual teaching and real learning.

“The passage of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) now gives every state a chance to take a hard look at its standardized testing policies and make sure we’re striking the right balance between testing and teaching. That should be policymakers’ focus over the next year and a half, and I’m pleased to see that process starting in Pennsylvania.

“Testing doesn’t have to be toxic. We need to do better, and this bill is a good step toward making sure we get this right for the 1.8 million kids who learn in our public schools.”

The ESSA was signed by President Barack Obama at the end of 2015, and replaced the No Child Left Behind federal law as the main one covering public schools. ESSA still requires schools to test students in grades three through eight in reading and math, and in high school to ensure that students are ready for college or a job.

But ESSA allows school districts to include other factors than just test scores when rating students; it allows schools to put a limit on the amount of time devoted to testing; and it eliminates the requirement that teacher evaluations be based in part on student test scores.

Student testing has been a defining issue on both sides of the aisle in recent years. It seems that politicians of all political stripes have recognized the profound frustration of parents and students across the state, and have come together to make changes their constituents are demanding.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the political process worked like that more often?

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