Pennsylvania System of School Assessment

1. Pennsylvania System of School Assessment January 24, 2007 Debra Kopp Director of Elementary Education and Assessment

2. Who and What? • Math and Reading • Grades 3-8 and 11 • Writing • Grades 5, 8, 11 • Science (field testing this year) • Grades 4, 8, 11

3. What do the tests look like? • Math and Reading • Multiple choice items • Open Ended items • Writing • Multiple choice for grammar and conventions • Two writing prompts • Informative, narrative, and persuasive • Science • Process and application • Content

4. Reading: Grade 3 • 3 sessions • Approx. 50 - 60 minutes each • Common Grade level passages • 2 Stories • 1 Poem • 1 Informational • 1 Biography OR 1 practical/how-to • 58 Multiple-choice items • 4 Open-ended items

5. Reading: Grades 4 and 5 • 3 sessions • Approx. 50 –60 minutes each • Common Grade level passages (varies by grade) • Poem • Informational • Story • Autobiography/Biography • Practical/How-to/Advertisement • Essay/Editorial • 56 Multiple-choice items • 6 Open-ended items

6. Writing: Grade 5 • Multiple-Choice Section given first • 5 passages with embedded editing and revision errors • 4 questions for each passage • Writing prompts • 2 prompts • Any two of three modes

7. Math: Grade 3, 4, 5 • Student score comes from: • 54 Multiple Choice questions • 3 Open-Ended questions • Students take: • 66 MC at grades 3 - 8 and 11 • 5 Open-Ended (scored 0- 4 scoring guide) • Grade 3 does not use a calculator

8. How does the district know what the test will include? • The state has standards for each subject area. • The state delineates which standards will be assessed by the yearly testing (assessment anchors). • The state then breaks down those assessment anchors into eligible content for the specific grade level.

9. What does that look like? • Measurement • Standard: Demonstrate an understanding of measurable attributes of objects and figures, and the units, systems, and processes of measurement. • Assessment Anchor: Determine or calculate time and elapsed time. • Eligible Content: • Grade 3- Tell/show time to the minute. • Grade 4- Match/construct an analog time to the same time written in digital.

10. Do we teach to the test? • We teach to the Pennsylvania standards that have been determined at Grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. • Each grade level has delineated skills and content that gets us to those standards. • The PSSA assesses acquisition of those standards.

11. What other testing do we use? • Benchmark Assessments • Locally developed by our teachers • Assess acquisition of the target skills of the grade level– the journey towards the grade level standard • Used to identify students in need of additional support and/or time

12. Other Resources • http://www.pde.state.pa.us/a_and_t/site/default.asp?g=0&a_and_tNav=|630|&k12Nav=|1141| • This will provide a variety of resources about assessment in PA. • http://www.pde.state.pa.us/pde_internet/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=74434 • This will provide overview links to many topoics in the state of PA.