Keystone Meeting Group Notes October 14, 2014

Keystone Group Presenter- Kathy Enders Attendees- Approximately 20 Schools Represented- Allen, Dieruff, Southern Lehigh, Salisbury, Northwestern Lehigh, Saucon Valley, Panther Valley, LCTI

Agenda/Topics Discussed PDE Updates PBAs (Project Based Assessment) Creating Quality Assessments Group Work/Discussion

Keystone Testing Most school districts are administering the English Keystone at the end of 10th grade (Spring) Re-Testing is taking place during Junior year (Winter) Religious exemption for the Keystone test but then student must complete the PBA The PBA is an alternative way to show proficiency

Project Based Assessment- PBA This is a NIGHTMARE and a disaster waiting to happen Students should retest twice before going down this road The state estimates each module will take approximately 5-7 hours for a student to complete The REALITY is each module will most likely take 10-14 hours for a student to complete

PBA (continued) Students only need to complete the PBA for the non-proficient module However, there is the potential with 3 Keystone tests for a student to have to complete 6 PBAs PBAs are module specific and should be tied to as many assessment anchors/eligible content as possible to create a cohesive project One project will include multiple tasks and should reflect Webb’s DOK (Levels 2 and 3)

PBA (continued) The project based assessment is chunked Resource links must be embedded within the project to help students learn more about the content/tasks to complete a given section Students can request extra time or breaks Students can request a tutor/mentor (state wants the tutor to be subject certified)

Strategies to utilize for PBA’s G.R.A.S.P.S: Goal, Role, Audience, Situation, Product/Performance and Purpose and Standards and Criteria for Success The 6 A’s Authenticity Academic Rigor Applied Learning Active Exploration Adult Relationships Assessment Practices

Strategies to Utilize for PBAs PBA’s must be authentic- meaningful to the student beyond school Engage and sustain a student’s interest so they will want to complete the PBA Tasks should be creative and rigorous and fuel a student’s interest

How Projects Will be Graded Projects must be done under supervisory conditions with a tutor who is certified in that content area Students are not allowed to work on projects at home All projects are electronic and must be submitted electronically to the state PDE and Pattan are looking for Teachers, Administrators and Curriculum Specialists to serve on a panel to evaluate the projects Pass/Fail

What is Needed Keystone Prep Course so more students will pass the Keystone tests More Teachers to teach Keystone Prep Courses All teachers to do their part to encourage higher level thinking- this is not only an Algebra, Biology and English issue MONEY that is properly utilized