Education Committee

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

​

Valerie Cook Henry, Chair

Education Committee Agenda

Agenda

COVID 19 Update

Revised Health and Safety Plan

​

Dr. Eric Becoats, Superintendent

Danielle Seward, Executive Director of Student Services

District COVID Levels

• Our District hasn’t had a COVID-19 Positive case since February 25, 2022.

​

• There have been no COVID-19 positive cases reported in March to date.

​

​

CDC COVID-19 County Check

​

​

​

CDC COVID-19 Community Case Rates

Revised Health and Safety Plan

Q & A

Call for the Motion

Student Services Presentation

Questions

Academic Services

Tara Brown, Assistant to the Superintendent of Academic Services

Ed Dunn, Supervisor of K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Support

Dr. Mark Lewis, Supervisor, Research & Evaluation

Geana Germana, Supervisor of Special Education

State Assessment Policy

• Federal accountability requirements: The ESSA framework maintains annual, statewide assessments in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, as well as science tests given three times between grades 3 and 12
• Student Participation: PIMS student data will be used to calculate each school’s participation rate
• Test Alignment: Students must be assessed at the enrolled grade level at time of testing
• PSSA and Keystone Exams: Students in 8th grade or below who complete a course for which there is a Keystone Exam will take both the Keystone Exam and the PSSA

Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)

• What is the PSSA? The annual PSSA is a standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment which provides stakeholders an understanding of student and school performance related to the attainment of proficiency of the academic standards.
• Who takes it? Students in grades 3 through 8 are assessed in English Language Arts and Math. Students in grades 4 and 8 are assessed in science.
• How is the data used? Individual student scores can be used to assist teachers in identifying students who may be in need of additional educational opportunities. School scores provide information to schools and districts for curriculum and instruction improvement discussions and planning. In addition, PDE provides an analysis of score growth that can be attributed to schools and teachers.

Keystone Exams

• What are the Keystone Exams? The Keystone Exams were created to replace the Grade 11 PSSA and serve as one component of Pennsylvania's statewide high school graduation requirement.
• Who takes it? The exams are end-of-course assessments designed to assess proficiency in the subject areas of Algebra I, Literature, and Biology.
• How does it impact Graduation Requirements? Effective with the graduating class of 2023, students have the option to demonstrate postsecondary preparedness through one of four additional pathways that more fully illustrate college, career, and community readiness.

Keystone Graduation Requirement Update

• Use of the Keystones as a graduation requirement is postponed to the 2022-2023 school year.
• Any student who was supposed to take a keystone last year (first time test takers enrolled in a keystone trigger course for 2019-2020) are determined to be proficient on that keystone if they passed the course.

School Code - Section 121. Keystone Exams and Graduation Requirements.

Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA)

Who Participates in the PASA?

• Only students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who meet all six of the state’s eligibility criteria in grades 3 through 8 and 11
• Participation determination is made by the student’s IEP team

Assessment Window

March 14, 2022 - May 20, 2022

PASA Participation Schools

Aldan 33 Students

Ardmore 14 Students

PWMS 9 Students

PWHS 9 Students

Link to PASA Eligibility Criteria

ACCESS Assessment for English Language Learners

• What does ACCESS stand for? ACCESS stands for ​"Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners."

• What is the ACCESS Assessment? It's a summative assessment that assesses social and academic English language development in the domains of Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.

​

• Who takes the ACCESS Assessment?
• Is administered to Kindergarten through Grade 12 students who have been identified as English Language Learners (ELLs)
• Is given annually to monitor students' progress in learning academic English
• PA state page

​

• Assessment Window
• January 6, 2022 - March 4, 2022

​

PDE State Assessment Windows

• PSSA Testing

Grades 3 through 8 (Science 4th/8th)

Assessment Window: April 25, 2022 to May 13, 2022

​

• Keystone Testing

Algebra I, Literature, Biology

Assessment Window: May 16, 2022 to May 27, 2022

​

• PASA Testing

Based on Students’ IEP Classifications

Assessment Window: March 14, 2022 - May 20, 2022

​

Link to WPSD Spring Assessment Calendar

PSSA, Keystone, and PASA Testing

QUESTIONS