A new wave of standardized testing is taking place in Southern Lehigh, and new exams, known as Keystones, are replacing the 11th grade PSSA’s. Most students have had to endure many PSSA’s during their school careers, so they are used to the idea of standardized testing. What differentiates Keystones from other state tests, and how will this affect students in the long run?

Mrs. Takacs, the Director of Secondary Education, helped clarify this new way of standardized testing.

Students currently at the high school noticed that midterms were different this year. Midterms were 40 minutes in length, and taken in class,  as opposed to the previous hour and a half scheduled times. These changes were put into place so that the school and district could accommodate the Keystone Exams, which were taken the week of January 14th.

The Keystones themselves are replacing the previous 11th grade PSSA’s. Beginning in the spring of 2013, there will be no more 11th grade PSSA’s, and the last time students will take the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments exam will be in 8th grade. This change is geared to benefit high school students, due to the fact that Keystones will now be end of course exams rather than a mass recall of information collected over a student’s high school career.

Previous to the Keystones, PSSA’s at the high school level were administered in 11th grade and required students to reflect upon information from all three years of high school. This was tough and quite stressful, considering most kids fret over remembering things for their midterms.

Now as an end of course exam, Keystones will test students on classes they just completed that school year. But, since the Keystones have only gone into effect this January, it isn’t necessarily an end of course exam yet. The January Keystones were administered to those students who completed Algebra I and Biology prior to this year.  It also included the current juniors who took the Literature Keystone to replace the 11th grade Reading PSSA.

There will also be a second wave of Keystones in May of 2013, and freshmen who have just completed their Algebra I and Biology courses will take the Keystones appropriate for those courses. Sophomores will also be taking a Literature Keystone at the end of May.

For the classes of 2013, 14, 15, and 16, Keystones are not a state graduation requirement, but starting with the class of 2017, it will be mandatory for students to pass the exams in order to graduate. However, Keystones will still impact students before 2017.   Remedial help is being offered to students who need to brush up on their skills in order to feel more prepared for the Keystones.

Keystones may seem intimidating as do most standardized tests, but really it is a huge benefit to students. They will no longer have to remember information from freshman year as juniors. Now, as soon as they complete their Biology, Algebra I, or sophomore Literature courses, students will simply take their Keystone at the end of the school year.

           In the long run, Keystones are going to become a crucial and beneficial part of the school curriculum and standardized test taking in general. It will also hopefully alleviate the worry and stress caused by the PSSA’s.