Posted: Thursday, November 21, 2013 10:21 pm | Updated: 12:51 am, Fri Nov 22, 2013.
HARRISBURG — Against pleas by some lawmakers and education advocates, the state Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved Thursday a set of regulations that will force students to pass standardized tests to graduate high school.The Keystone Exams, first taken by students last spring, will become a graduation requirement starting with the Class of 2017, or this year’s ninth-graders.
On a 3-2 vote, commissioners of the legislative oversight body green-lighted the education department’s Chapter 4 regulations, which included the Keystone Exam rules and newly adopted academic standards based on the national Common Core State Standards.
Chester County state Sen. Andy Dinniman urged the commission to vote against the updated regulations, and to demand the board of education produce a fiscal analysis on how much it’ll cost school districts to implement them. He said he’s not against testing, but opposes testing as a graduation requirement. And he’s adamant that many schools cannot afford to prepare students to pass the tests and remediate those who don’t.
“We’re putting in place a mandate that is meaningless because the poorer districts have no money,” said Dinniman, D-19, who serves as minority chair of the Senate Education Committee.
Earlier this month, superintendents from nearly all the school districts in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties sent the IRRC a letter opposing the graduation requirement, citing both a financial burden and concerns over higher dropout rates.
Board of Education Chairman Larry Wittig, who’s also school board president of the Tamaqua Area School District in Schuylkill County, told commissioners that some individuals and organizations are overstating the amount of added costs. He said his district, which has about 2,200 students and is not wealthy, will be able to help students pass the Keystone Exams through programs and professional development already in the works.
“The Tamaqua School District does not believe in social promotion but does believe that a student is entitled to a guaranteed standard of education,” he told commissioners. “Unfortunately not every district has this philosophy and therefore it is the state’s responsibility to ensure that happens.”
In western Pennsylvania, Aliquippa School District Superintendent David Wytiaz said the Keystone Exams present a budget challenge. His district is small — about 80 students make up this year’s high school class — so the dollar amount won’t be exorbitant, but the district has had to scale back remediation efforts amid a financial crunch.
“A lot of the tutoring money, a lot of the money for support, interventions, has been cut,” Wytiaz said. “I think that needs to be considered strongly. Obviously students who fail these things — we have an obligation to help them pass. We’re going to have to intervene. I’m just concerned how we’re going to do that.”
Superintendent Philip Savini of Brownsville Area School District, which spans Fayette and Washington counties, said he appreciates that the new regulations allow students to take the test an unlimited number of times until they pass, or complete a project-based assessment in its place. But he’s concerned about putting more testing pressure on students with special needs or test-taking difficulties.
“We do have remediation; however, the requirements for graduation can limit a school district — not just ours, but any other district — depending on the size of their schools, the size of their budget and their tax base,” he said.
The Chapter 4 regulations approved by IRRC Thursday replace the set of rules adopted in 2010, and include several changes based on input over the past few years.
Under the 2010 regulations, students would have had to take six of 10 exams, which would have counted for one-third of their final grades. The new regulations will phase in five exams through 2020, with the Class of 2017 taking algebra I, literature and biology tests. The Keystone Exam scores no longer apply to a student’s grade, and students no longer have to complete a state-mandated senior project. Only the secretary of education could have granted waivers to students for extenuating circumstance in the 2010 rules, whereas the new regulations grant local school officials that authority.
Wythe Keever, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said giving local schools discretion over excusing students is an improvement.
“However, we still believe the use of the Keystone Exams as a high-stakes graduation exam isn’t appropriate,” Keever said. “It hasn’t been validated for that purpose. We are concerned about the cost to school districts for remediation as a result of Keystone Exams, and how that’s going to impact school districts that are already suffering a financial crisis.”
Joan Benso, president of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, praised the approval as a positive move that will boost student education levels statewide.
“For too long, Pennsylvania has been graduating tens of thousands of students each year who received their diplomas despite failing to demonstrate proficiency in reading and math,” Benso wrote to commissioners in advance of the meeting.
One-third of Pennsylvania’s high school graduates in 2012, or about 44,000 students, did not score proficient or advanced on the 11th-grade PSSAs or the 12th-grade retake, Benso said.
She also said students will be more likely to take the exams more seriously. That will become increasingly important for teachers as the state rolls out its new teacher evaluations, with school performance making up 15 percent of a teacher’s grade.
Chester County state Sen. Andy Dinniman urged the commission to vote against the updated regulations, and to demand the board of education produce a fiscal analysis on how much it’ll cost school districts to implement them. He said he’s not against testing, but opposes testing as a graduation requirement. And he’s adamant that many schools cannot afford to prepare students to pass the tests and remediate those who don’t.
“We’re putting in place a mandate that is meaningless because the poorer districts have no money,” said Dinniman, D-19, who serves as minority chair of the Senate Education Committee.
Earlier this month, superintendents from nearly all the school districts in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties sent the IRRC a letter opposing the graduation requirement, citing both a financial burden and concerns over higher dropout rates.
Board of Education Chairman Larry Wittig, who’s also school board president of the Tamaqua Area School District in Schuylkill County, told commissioners that some individuals and organizations are overstating the amount of added costs. He said his district, which has about 2,200 students and is not wealthy, will be able to help students pass the Keystone Exams through programs and professional development already in the works.
“The Tamaqua School District does not believe in social promotion but does believe that a student is entitled to a guaranteed standard of education,” he told commissioners. “Unfortunately not every district has this philosophy and therefore it is the state’s responsibility to ensure that happens.”
In western Pennsylvania, Aliquippa School District Superintendent David Wytiaz said the Keystone Exams present a budget challenge. His district is small — about 80 students make up this year’s high school class — so the dollar amount won’t be exorbitant, but the district has had to scale back remediation efforts amid a financial crunch.
“A lot of the tutoring money, a lot of the money for support, interventions, has been cut,” Wytiaz said. “I think that needs to be considered strongly. Obviously students who fail these things — we have an obligation to help them pass. We’re going to have to intervene. I’m just concerned how we’re going to do that.”
Superintendent Philip Savini of Brownsville Area School District, which spans Fayette and Washington counties, said he appreciates that the new regulations allow students to take the test an unlimited number of times until they pass, or complete a project-based assessment in its place. But he’s concerned about putting more testing pressure on students with special needs or test-taking difficulties.
“We do have remediation; however, the requirements for graduation can limit a school district — not just ours, but any other district — depending on the size of their schools, the size of their budget and their tax base,” he said.
The Chapter 4 regulations approved by IRRC Thursday replace the set of rules adopted in 2010, and include several changes based on input over the past few years.
Under the 2010 regulations, students would have had to take six of 10 exams, which would have counted for one-third of their final grades. The new regulations will phase in five exams through 2020, with the Class of 2017 taking algebra I, literature and biology tests. The Keystone Exam scores no longer apply to a student’s grade, and students no longer have to complete a state-mandated senior project. Only the secretary of education could have granted waivers to students for extenuating circumstance in the 2010 rules, whereas the new regulations grant local school officials that authority.
Wythe Keever, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said giving local schools discretion over excusing students is an improvement.
“However, we still believe the use of the Keystone Exams as a high-stakes graduation exam isn’t appropriate,” Keever said. “It hasn’t been validated for that purpose. We are concerned about the cost to school districts for remediation as a result of Keystone Exams, and how that’s going to impact school districts that are already suffering a financial crisis.”
Joan Benso, president of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, praised the approval as a positive move that will boost student education levels statewide.
“For too long, Pennsylvania has been graduating tens of thousands of students each year who received their diplomas despite failing to demonstrate proficiency in reading and math,” Benso wrote to commissioners in advance of the meeting.
One-third of Pennsylvania’s high school graduates in 2012, or about 44,000 students, did not score proficient or advanced on the 11th-grade PSSAs or the 12th-grade retake, Benso said.
She also said students will be more likely to take the exams more seriously. That will become increasingly important for teachers as the state rolls out its new teacher evaluations, with school performance making up 15 percent of a teacher’s grade.
2 comments:
http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/crime/morrisville-man-who-is-charged-with-attacking-police-says-he/article_b9337597-e060-5a04-bb0b-d90033e26e2c.html
"Keystone Exams Grad Requirement Gets Final Approval"
Thank you for posting this.
Post a Comment