Sep 24, 2014 By David Singer 3 min read

Assistant superintendent Dr. Michael Loughead told the South Fayette School Board at their Sept. 23 meeting students will be facing a new challenge in the spring: revised PSSA exams.

“The math and reading exams are going to change dramatically for students. Part of the new PSSA exam is a combined reading-writing portion, which has never been done before. That alone will account for 30 percent of their score,” he said during a presentation of Keystone and PSSA exam scores over the past two years. “And there will be separate non-fiction and literature analysis modules.”

Loughead said the cumulative PSSA scores in reading proficiency for all students has averaged 93 percent in 2012 and 2013, which is above state averages. Cumulative math scores were at 96 percent for the same years.

While the PSSA will generally be viewed as more rigorous, students in grades 7-10 who are enrolled in either an advanced biology or algebra course must also take the Keystone exam for that subject. The problem is that some students may move on to another subject despite not passing a subject test. According to state guidelines, if a student moves on to geometry, after algebra in the classroom, but failed to pass the algebra Keystone exam, that student still has to pass the subject test despite taking a different subject course. This leaves some students to stay after school for tutoring, or seeking out extra work while in school.

The fault lies in No Child Left Behind legislation that has been largely untouched since its passage. The federal mandate also requires all juniors to take the Keystone subject exams.

“Many of the students, we hope, will take the Keystone exam (for algebra) in eighth grade, so they get the benefit of a powerful pre-algebra course in seventh grade,” Loughead said.

Also at the meeting, superintendent Dr. Billie Rondinelli notified the board that official negotiations for a new teachers’ contract through the 2019 school year would begin on Oct. 13. The board tentatively approved a working contract at their committee meeting Sept. 16. The board also voted at that meeting to promote James Kirker from seventh/eighth grade boys basketball coach to assistant varsity coach for the 2014-15 season, and also approved the hiring of nine substitute teachers.

In board action on Sept. 23, members voted to approve new courses for the 2015-16 school year, including Game Design, GameMaker Progamming I, Screenwriting, Honors Statistics and Creativity and Innovation.

Dr. Rondinelli also announced that science teacher Melissa Drake was one of seven local teachers selected to attend a Nov. 14 meeting of “Unboxed” hosted by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit to meet with other teachers who “innovate and encourage outside-the-box thinking in students” in science, technology, math and engineering classes.