In years past, many high school students have dreaded the PSSAs. For weeks previous to these tests, teachers and students lost class time from reviewing in order for the students to achieve the highest score possible.
Now, the Keystone Exams have taken the place of the old PSSAs. These Keystones are administered three times per year: once in the winter, once in the spring, and once in the summer. The summer exam is optional for those students who have not passed the Keystones yet. If the Keystones aren’t passed, remedial classes are in place and are required for below-Proficient scorers.
In December and January, juniors took the Keystones for the first time, and the results turned out to be pretty good. However, for those who did not pass, a second retest is coming up in the middle of May.
Previously, Bethel Park performed well in standardized testing. The students continued that success with well over half of the students passing the fall Keystone in all three main subjects.
81% of students passed the Literature Exam, which consisted of both fiction and non-fiction readings. While most of the questions on said readings were multiple choice, there were some short-answer or Constructed-Response questions as well.
Biology proved to be the hardest subject on the first Keystones. 65% of students passed in this area. Like the Literature Exam, there were reading and short-answer questions. There were also some additional questions involving graphs.
75% of the students passed the Algebra Exam, which consisted of simple functions and some graphing.
Biology, Algebra, and Literature Exams will soon be given again. All sophomores and juniors who didn’t pass the first time will test this time around. On May 13th and 14th, students will take the Algebra Keystone, the Literature Keystone will be administered on May 15th and 16th, and the Biology Keystone will be given May 17th and 20th. The 22nd, 23rd, and 24th will all be make-up days for students who missed the previous testing dates.
Students should get a good nights rest and eat a healthy breakfast in order to maximize their Keystone Exam scores.
