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Students Face New PSSA Writing Exam

Posted on: Thursday, 2 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Ivonne D'Amato, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.

Feb. 2--STATE COLLEGE -- State standardized writing tests will look a little different to test takers this year.

The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment writing exam, until 2004 administered to sixth- and ninth-grade students throughout the state, this year will be given to fifth- and eighth-grade students between Feb. 13 and Feb. 24.

The new test will include a 12-question multiple choice section and essay sections that put increased emphasis on informational and persuasive writing.

A field test was conducted last year in which students in fifth and eighth grades took the exam, but scores were not returned to districts. Students fared well on that test, an indication that most will do well this year, said state Education Department spokesman Mike Storm.

School officials in Centre County say districts have aligned their curriculums with state standards to prepare students for the new exam, but districts also are working to familiarize students and teachers with the test's new format.

Administrators and faculty at Penns Valley Area School District took part in a state Department of Education video conference on the changes so they could explain them to students. At Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District, teachers have posted sample questions on their blackboards and discussed the questions with students before each class, said district compliance officer Kim Peters.

Bellefonte Area School District also is using sample questions to prepare students, and State College teachers also have been given sample questions to share with students.

"When students open their test booklets, they are confident and comfortable in what they can do," said Pamela Francis, associate principal for curriculum development for the Park Forest and Mount Nittany middle schools.

The changes to the test were made to better align the exam with state academic standards, Storm said.

PSSA exams are used to assess a school district's performance in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that don't meet annual progress goals will be forced to allow parents to move their children to other schools at the district's expense. If scores don't improve over time, the school could be taken over by the state.

Ivonne D'Amato can be reached at 231-4619.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.)

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