The Department of Education today released statewide, aggregate results of the 2016 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and the Keystone Exams.

 

The 2016 administration of the PSSA last spring marked the second time students were assessed on the new, more rigorous PA Core Standards in English Language Arts and Math. The PSSA Science assessments administered in grades 4 and 8 were unchanged.

 

“More Pennsylvania students are scoring proficient or advanced on the PSSA in comparison to the 2015 results, which showsthat schools, educators and families are putting supports in place to help students transition to the more rigorous PA Corestandards,” Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera said. “However, while these results show promise of improved student performance we need to renew our commitment to ensuring that every student has access to the tools they need to thrive and graduate college and career ready.”

 

Rivera added that the Wolf administration is committed to working on increasing the state’s share of education funding and to ensuring every student regardless of zip code has access to the tools needed to grow academically and graduate with the skills needed for the 21st century.

 

The PSSA data indicates that more students are scoring proficient and advanced than in 2015 in nearly all categories of English Language Arts and Math testing. Notably, proficiency in math grew in every grade level, representing the first time there has been significant growth in math year over year since 2011. However, the statewide results also show there is more to do to help the students scoring in the basic or below basic levels.

 

Proficiency in each of the Keystone Exams also grew statewide. However, Keystone results do not mark a singular administration of the exam. Keystone Exams are end-of-course assessments in Algebra I, Literature and Biology, and a student’s best scores are “banked” and reported in statewide data when the student is in 11^th grade.

 

Currently, there is a pause in using the Keystone Exams as graduation requirements until 2019. The Department of Education recently submitted a report to the legislature offering findings and recommendations about graduation requirements in the commonwealth.

 

School districts will receive Individual Student Reports in early September. District administrators determine how to distribute those reports to parents. PDE will publicly release school level and disaggregated data the final week of September.

 

For more information about the PSSA and Keystone Exams, visit www.education.pa.gov.