PENNSYLVANIA, USA — School districts across the Pennsylvania are trying to determine how to administer federally required statewide exams that must be given in person as not every district in Pennsylvania has returned back to the classroom.
The PSSA and Keystone exams also pose a challenge for districts that have made a full return to 'in person' learning as school leaders work to follow social distancing guidelines and other safety precautions during the exam process.
The US Department of Education has faced pressure from Pennsylvania's Department of Education along with state lawmakers to waive the testing requirements this year. However, the US Department of Education has not yet changed its decision. Pennsylvania's Department of Education responded by giving school districts an option to delay the testing to fall.
Acting Secretary Noe Ortega drafted a letter to the US Department of Education. In the letter, he writes that he understands testing is a federal requirement and that results determine things such as prioritization of schools for support and intervention. However, he notes it's a high task to balance the requirements of the testing with the pandemic's health and safety guidelines.
"It's absolutely time sensitive from the standpoint that it will not be logistically easy," said Republican PA Senator Scott Martin, who is Majority Chair of the Education Committee, earlier this month.
Sen. Martin teamed up with Minority Chair, Democrat Sen. Lindsey Williams, to draft a letter to President Joe Biden which asks to waive the standardized testing requirement for the 2020/2021 school year.
"I would categorize it as a logistical nightmare to try to organize this many kids back into their school physically. They can’t do it all at once. They don’t have the space to do it," said Sen. Martin.
Currently, the US Dept. of Education has only issued guidance to states regarding the testing which includes:
- Extending the testing window and moving assessments to the summer or fall,
- Giving the assessment remotely, where feasible,
- Shortening the state assessment, to make testing more feasible to implement and prioritize in-person learning time.
It said it also recognizes that individual states may need additional assessment flexibility but it's prepared to work with states to address their individual needs and conditions while ensuring the maximum available statewide data to inform the targeting of resources and support.
HOW DISTRICTS ARE RESPONDING
Multiple school districts have decided to delay the tests, that are normally done in April, to May in order to give students more time in the classroom with their teachers. However, others are weighing the decision to administer the statewide tests in early fall immediately after students return.
Bermudian Springs School District is delaying its testing until May after weighing the decision heavily, said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jon Fox. Currently, only elementary and middle school students have returned in person at the district as high school students remain hybrid. Cyber students are now being contacted about coming into the district for the in person exams and the district is considering different spaces in which it can hold the testing inside the building in order to allow for social distancing.
"We're pretty much utilizing all different kinds of spaces throughout our buildings," said Dr. Fox. When FOX43 asked what creative spaces the district may use for testing he said, "we'll probably use some of the larger areas that we can, such as our gyms, our auxiliary gyms, our cafeterias, in order to be able to spread students out."
The PSEA noted its disappointment that the federal government did not delay the testing.
"PSEA was really disappointed that the US Dept of Education decided to plow ahead with standardized testing this year," said Chris Lilienthal, spokesperson for the PSEA. "Our strong belief is that if we want to focus on learning recovery if we want to get students up to where they need to be we should be focused on that."
Meantime, districts like Harrisburg plan to discuss upcoming PSSA and Keystone Exams during the next district school board meeting Monday, April 19.
"I think it's important that we continue to send the message that our students are greater than any test score and that the standardized tests are one thing and one measurement that they do," said Dr. Fox.
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