Compromise reached on high school exams

Published September 2009 Voice

The State Board of Education has voted to adopt a compromise measure linking proposed standardized tests, known as Keystone Exams, to high school graduation.
The board voted on August 13 to adopt the plan to require students, starting with the class of 2015, to demonstrate competency in English, math, science and social studies. Although the measure could be derailed by legislative opposition, the move clears the largest regulatory hurdle for the controversial measure.

PSEA in July withdrew its opposition to the Keystone Exams after a successful lobbying effort by members and staff resulted in modifications to the proposal.

“After extensive discussions with State Board of Education Chair Joe Torsella and other state education officials, PSEA reached a compromise agreement on the Keystone Exam issue,” President Jim Testerman explained. “While PSEA does not support this new proposal, enough of the Keystone Exam 2.0 proposal—developed by the Coalition for Effective and Responsible Testing of which PSEA is a key member —were incorporated so that we no longer stand in opposition to these tests.”

The new proposal adopted by the state board no longer provides for high-stakes gatekeeper exams that can prevent a student from graduating. PSEA was able to secure provisions that ensure the test will not count for more than 33 percent of a student’s course grade, but most importantly, that the Keystone Exams, if selected by a school district, will be graded on a continuum that ensures they will not have a disproportional impact on a student’s final grade.

The proposal now moves through the state’s regulatory review process, which includes reviews by the attorney general, House and Senate education committees and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.

The proposal provides for students to demonstrate competency in the subjects in a variety of ways. They can pass six of 10 courses for which the state is developing exams, called Keystone Exams. Or a school could choose to use a state-validated local assessment, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam. Find more at www.psea.org/Keystoneexams.