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USC School Board discusses standardized tests

By Terry Kish for The Almanac writer@thealmanac.Net 3 min read

Upper St. Clair administrators presented results from the Pennsylvania System School Assessment and Keystone exams to the school board during the district’s Nov. 20 regular meeting, noting the students performed well on the standardized tests.

A school’s score is calculated by using 40 percent of the PSSA and/or Keystone exam achievement data, 40 percent of growth data, and 20 percent of other factors such as grade promotion, attendance and AP offerings. In addition to providing feedback on student performance, the scores are used as part of teacher and principal evaluations.

All the district’s schools performed well on the standardized tests, and administrators have analyzed data to help identify areas for continued improvement.

Reporting on the high school, Timothy Wagner, high school associate principal for planning and innovation, said they plan to utilize the “professional learning community” model to organize teachers by academic and grade levels to develop support and enrichment opportunities.

Judy Bulazo, director of curriculum and professional development, reported that at the district’s middle schools, Boyce and Fort Couch, they are recommending focusing on more text dependent analytical writing and more open-ended problem solving.

Eisenhower Elementary School Principal Mark Miller said that after analyzing the test results at the elementary level, they are recommending consistent use of a wider variety of text, an increased consistent exposure to rigorous problem solving and critical thinking skills, and an increased emphasis on science. Also recommended was developing consistency and collaboration across the district’s three elementary schools, Baker, Eisenhower and Streams.

Board member Harry Kunselman asked the administrators if the data from the tests was useful.

Miller said some of the data from the tests is very useful and helps identify areas for improvement. Miller had concerns about how the results of the testing is publicized, since not everyone has all the information about how the numbers are calculated and what they mean. Another problem Miller noted is that students are sometimes tested on curriculum that has not been covered in class yet.

Bulazo said that having standards to measure student performance is important, but the high stakes nature of the test and tying it into teacher evaluations can make for a tricky situation and put a lot of pressure on teachers and students.

Bulazo added the standardized tests are just one of the methods used to measure student performance.

Board member Barbara Bolas said she was glad the district was using the assessment tests as a tool to perform student evaluations.

In other business, the board recognized retiring board members Buffy Hasco, Frank Kerber and Harry Kunselman, who are leaving the board.

“You will all be greatly missed,” Board President Angela Petersen said.

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