Showing posts with label Keystone Exams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keystone Exams. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
2010 Conference on the State of Education in Pennsylvania
Register now to attend the 2010 Conference on the State of Education in Pennsylvania on Saturday, May 1, 2010. The conference features several outstanding experts speaking to topics ranging from the high stakes tests to the Education Empowerment Act to National Core Standards and the Keystone Exams. The Youth Strand presentations will empower youth to move forward with a purpose and plan and to better understand wealth and financial development. The event takes place at Cheney University from 8:30am--3:00pm. Register online and get more details at www.naacpmediabranch.org.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
High School Competency Graduation Exit Exams Become PA State Law
As of the January 9, 2010 issue of The Pennsylvania Bulletin, the Keystone Exams are officially and finally approved as high school competency graduation exit exams. Pennsylvania's public school students and school staff will join those from 28 states who are required or are in the process of implementing state-prescribed high school comprehensive exams as high school graduation requirements. Unlike some all-or-none tests, the Keystone Exams will be administered as end-of-course tests as student complete courses, and they may count for one-third of the course grade. Publication of the Keystone Exams as a new rule and regulation in the The Pennsylvania Bulletin was the final "legal" step in making these exams state law.
Exams will be phased in over time, beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. The class of 2014-2015 must demonstrate proficiency in English Composition, Literature, Algebra I and Biology. Beginning with the class of 2016-2017 students must demonstrate proficiency in English composition and literature, two of the following; Algebra I, Algebra II or Geometry; Biology or Chemistry, and one of the following: American History, World History, or Civics and Government. If there is a delay in implementing these exams, a "grandfather" clause has been written into the new law to avoid penalizing students unable to follow the regulations as currently provisioned.
You can read The Pennsylvania Bulletin online at www.pabulletin.com.
Exams will be phased in over time, beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. The class of 2014-2015 must demonstrate proficiency in English Composition, Literature, Algebra I and Biology. Beginning with the class of 2016-2017 students must demonstrate proficiency in English composition and literature, two of the following; Algebra I, Algebra II or Geometry; Biology or Chemistry, and one of the following: American History, World History, or Civics and Government. If there is a delay in implementing these exams, a "grandfather" clause has been written into the new law to avoid penalizing students unable to follow the regulations as currently provisioned.
You can read The Pennsylvania Bulletin online at www.pabulletin.com.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
CBP & Zion Baptist Youth Council to Host Education Summit: The Village Takes Responsibility Part II
Plan to attend and share the word...The Lower Merion School District administrators will be featured presenters at the Education Summit--The Village Takes Responsibility Part II on Saturday, January 9, 2010 from 9:15am-3pm at 92 Greenfield Avenue in Ardmore, PA 19010. Concerned Black Parents and the Zion Baptist Youth Advisory Council are co-hosting the summit on behalf of all concerned residents. The event is free and open to all, a continental breakfast and lunch will be available. Details follow.
The Morning Session starts at 10:00 am with presentations as follows:
Academic Achievement & the Keystone Exams
Dr. Christopher McGinley, Superintendent
Mr. Steve Barbato, Director of Curriculum
Special Education
Dr. Bobbi Shapiro, Director of Students Services
Cultural Proficiency
Dr. Barbara Moore-Williams, School District Consultant on Cultural Proficiency
After a brief lunch, the Afternoon Session at 12:45pm will hold Community Discussions on…
- What’s our community to do to raise achievement for African Americans from the outside in and inside schools out?
- How do we give more kids an identity as “intellectual” achievers?
- Who’s willing to do what?
We look forward to seeing you there! Contact us for more details, concernedblackparents@gmail.com
Sunday, October 25, 2009
As Predicted--PA Regulators Approve High School Graduation Competency "Keystone" Exams
In 2005, Governor Rendell established the Commission on College and Career Success (CCCS report) and gave them the responsibility to study and produce recommendations to increase the numbers of Pennsylvanians who earn a diploma indicative of a world-class student ready to graduate from high school and enter the new global economy or prepared to succeed in college. Their primary recommendation was to initiate graduation competency exams throughout the state. In the face of tremendous state-wide opposition, the State Board of Education and Governor's office steadily ran with the idea until it became a sealed deal.
Long story short, when nearly $176 million dollars was contracted to Data Recognition Corporation (not a PA corporation) during a moratorium on the high school exit exams push, it was evident that all votes en route to creating a new state law requiring students to pass graduation competency tests was a done deal long before the state "Independent" Regulatory Review Commission voted 4-1 on October 22, 2009 to approve the Keystone Exams proposal that the State Board of Education has pushed over the past four years. The final leg of this new law includes a review by the attorney general before being published in the Pennslvania Bulletin. Voila. The class of 2015 will be the first to endure the consequences of graduate competency exams.
The CCCS report states that students must move beyond the Information Age and into the Conceptual Age. After all, the The State Department of Education and Governor Rendell, at least via the CCCS's report, do know that Pennsylvania still faces a gaping achievement gap that is no where near being eradicated by 2014, which is the intention of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.
The CCCS reports that "persistent (achievement) gaps are ensured by inequity of funding and resources which results in less credentialed teachers in front of our poorest children, larger class sizes and less college counseling for our children of color and less access to higher education for our rural students." What's the plan to eradicate these foundational problems, if, indeed, these are the root causes of the achievement gap? By other indicators, the CCCS's report is rather simplistic in determining the root causes of the achievement gap. For argument sake, take a look at the high achieving, very wealthy Lower Merion School District; its achievement gap is deep and wide even while it doesn't suffer from any of the symptoms CCCS indicates are at the root of the problem.
Perhaps the achievement gap experienced in one of Pennsylvania's highest academic achieving school districts, the Lower Merion School District (LMSD), points to the shallow analysis of the CCCS report when it explains cause of the gap. Nearly 100 percent of Lower Merion's teachers are credentialed, there's a moderate to low student to teacher ratio, it does not subscribe to the Project 720, and the district is one of the wealthiest in the state (2010 budget of nearly $200 million for 6,800 students).
The LMSD achievement gap between PSSA Black and White 11th grade peer test takers during the spring of 2009 is as follows: 54 points in math, 32 points in reading, 56 points in science and 16 points in writing; that number is greater when the comparison is between Black students and 100% proficiency. Money isn't an issue, qualified teachers and class size aren't the problem--WHAT POINT IS THE STATE MISSING! If you're thinking the students are the problem, think again. Schools across the nation are not just closing the gap, they're eliminating them all together.
Bottom line...Priorities are out of order when fixing the roof is more important than solidifying the crumbling foundation upon which it sits.
Keystone Exams---will be written about for years to come because you cannot ensure by them that high school students are prepared to be citizens and workers that the Pennsylvania, national and international economy demands without greater regard and analysis of the varied levels of education (top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top) needed to prepare students to succeed.
Long story short, when nearly $176 million dollars was contracted to Data Recognition Corporation (not a PA corporation) during a moratorium on the high school exit exams push, it was evident that all votes en route to creating a new state law requiring students to pass graduation competency tests was a done deal long before the state "Independent" Regulatory Review Commission voted 4-1 on October 22, 2009 to approve the Keystone Exams proposal that the State Board of Education has pushed over the past four years. The final leg of this new law includes a review by the attorney general before being published in the Pennslvania Bulletin. Voila. The class of 2015 will be the first to endure the consequences of graduate competency exams.
The CCCS report states that students must move beyond the Information Age and into the Conceptual Age. After all, the The State Department of Education and Governor Rendell, at least via the CCCS's report, do know that Pennsylvania still faces a gaping achievement gap that is no where near being eradicated by 2014, which is the intention of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.
The CCCS reports that "persistent (achievement) gaps are ensured by inequity of funding and resources which results in less credentialed teachers in front of our poorest children, larger class sizes and less college counseling for our children of color and less access to higher education for our rural students." What's the plan to eradicate these foundational problems, if, indeed, these are the root causes of the achievement gap? By other indicators, the CCCS's report is rather simplistic in determining the root causes of the achievement gap. For argument sake, take a look at the high achieving, very wealthy Lower Merion School District; its achievement gap is deep and wide even while it doesn't suffer from any of the symptoms CCCS indicates are at the root of the problem.
Perhaps the achievement gap experienced in one of Pennsylvania's highest academic achieving school districts, the Lower Merion School District (LMSD), points to the shallow analysis of the CCCS report when it explains cause of the gap. Nearly 100 percent of Lower Merion's teachers are credentialed, there's a moderate to low student to teacher ratio, it does not subscribe to the Project 720, and the district is one of the wealthiest in the state (2010 budget of nearly $200 million for 6,800 students).
The LMSD achievement gap between PSSA Black and White 11th grade peer test takers during the spring of 2009 is as follows: 54 points in math, 32 points in reading, 56 points in science and 16 points in writing; that number is greater when the comparison is between Black students and 100% proficiency. Money isn't an issue, qualified teachers and class size aren't the problem--WHAT POINT IS THE STATE MISSING! If you're thinking the students are the problem, think again. Schools across the nation are not just closing the gap, they're eliminating them all together.
Bottom line...Priorities are out of order when fixing the roof is more important than solidifying the crumbling foundation upon which it sits.
Keystone Exams---will be written about for years to come because you cannot ensure by them that high school students are prepared to be citizens and workers that the Pennsylvania, national and international economy demands without greater regard and analysis of the varied levels of education (top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top) needed to prepare students to succeed.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
PA State Board of Education Approves High School Graduation Exit Exams with 14-2 Vote
Pennsylvania's Board of Education voted 14:2 to approve the Keystone Exams, high school graduation competency exit exams, despite the recent resistance by school boards, organizations, and politicians across the state since its proposal a couple of years ago.
The Board of Education's approval should not come as a surprise. The year-long moratorium was lifted in June. Senate Education Committee voted 10:1 to adopt a resolution in support of the most recent version of the Keystone Exam Plan on July 28; the House Education Committee nearly voted unanimously in favor of the high school graduation competency testing process that Governor Edward Rendell and State Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak believe will ensure that the state's high school students graduate with a meaningful diploma. The recent shift in support of these measures is due to the fact that the plan looks quite different from its original draft.
So, if the No Child Left Behind law hasn't managed to close the achievement gap in seven years, will the Keystone Exams raise or frustrate academic success state-wide?
Three of the ten tests will be administered to high school students during the 2010-11 school year, the others will phase in through 2016. Test scores will count for one-third of the students' final grade. The Keystone Exams come at a production cost of nearly $200 million by an out-of-state company.
Before the Attorney General makes the Keystone Exams "state law" the House and Senate Education Committees along with the Independent Regulatory Commission will have to put their final approval on the proposal.
One has to wonder what role in the voting process did Pennsylvania's 3.2 billion dollar deficit play in the decision process of our "leaders." Did anyone consider the level of success the No Child Left Behind law has had over the past seven years, or lack thereof. Ready or not, it looks like high school graduation competency exams are coming to your school district soon.
Betcha the "politics" of the Keystone Exams makes for good readin'!
The Board of Education's approval should not come as a surprise. The year-long moratorium was lifted in June. Senate Education Committee voted 10:1 to adopt a resolution in support of the most recent version of the Keystone Exam Plan on July 28; the House Education Committee nearly voted unanimously in favor of the high school graduation competency testing process that Governor Edward Rendell and State Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak believe will ensure that the state's high school students graduate with a meaningful diploma. The recent shift in support of these measures is due to the fact that the plan looks quite different from its original draft.
So, if the No Child Left Behind law hasn't managed to close the achievement gap in seven years, will the Keystone Exams raise or frustrate academic success state-wide?
Three of the ten tests will be administered to high school students during the 2010-11 school year, the others will phase in through 2016. Test scores will count for one-third of the students' final grade. The Keystone Exams come at a production cost of nearly $200 million by an out-of-state company.
Before the Attorney General makes the Keystone Exams "state law" the House and Senate Education Committees along with the Independent Regulatory Commission will have to put their final approval on the proposal.
One has to wonder what role in the voting process did Pennsylvania's 3.2 billion dollar deficit play in the decision process of our "leaders." Did anyone consider the level of success the No Child Left Behind law has had over the past seven years, or lack thereof. Ready or not, it looks like high school graduation competency exams are coming to your school district soon.
Betcha the "politics" of the Keystone Exams makes for good readin'!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
PA NAACP Branches Oppose Proposed State Mandating of High School Graduation Exit Exams
As Pennsylvania's Governor Edward Rendell and the Department of Education forge ahead to ensure the viability of the Keystone Exams by awarding a $201 million dollar contract to Data Recognition, a Minnesota corporation with extensive lobbying forces in Harrisburg, to create the high stakes public high school graduation competency assessments, the NAACP along with state legislators and other organizations speak out AGAINST the push for more state mandated exams.
Senate Bill 281 is intended to prohibit the Education Department from establishing any new statewide requirements for graduation without legislature approval. Legislators argue that neither Pennsylvania's budget nor property taxpayers can afford the expense of the Keystone Exams; the NAACP charges that they place an unjust burden on African American students, their families, and society. The PA State Conference of NAACP Branches agrees with the National NAACP's Call to Action on Education statement that says...
"Before shifting accountability burdens onto the shoulders of children, state and local educational agency's must ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to learn the tested curriculum."
Check out the Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP Branches position paper for yourself at:
http://www.irrc.state.pa.us/Documents/SRCDocuments/Regulations/2696/COMMENTS_PUBLIC/Document-9572.pdf
(Follow the blogs on this site for more details on the Keystone Exams.)
Senate Bill 281 is intended to prohibit the Education Department from establishing any new statewide requirements for graduation without legislature approval. Legislators argue that neither Pennsylvania's budget nor property taxpayers can afford the expense of the Keystone Exams; the NAACP charges that they place an unjust burden on African American students, their families, and society. The PA State Conference of NAACP Branches agrees with the National NAACP's Call to Action on Education statement that says...
"Before shifting accountability burdens onto the shoulders of children, state and local educational agency's must ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to learn the tested curriculum."
Check out the Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP Branches position paper for yourself at:
http://www.irrc.state.pa.us/Documents/SRCDocuments/Regulations/2696/COMMENTS_PUBLIC/Document-9572.pdf
(Follow the blogs on this site for more details on the Keystone Exams.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)