Preparing For The PSSA's
Helping Your Child Succeed
Be sure that your child is well rested and attends school on all testing days.
Encourage your child to take the test seriously.
Let your child know that you are interested in the results.
Make sure your child eats a nutritious breakfast.
Relax! Let your child know that their score are important, but are only a snapshot of what they know.
Prepare your child with all necessary materials (#2 pencils, calculator, snacks)
Gaining A Better Understanding of Standardized Testing
Why Do Schools use Standardized Tests?
They allow teachers & administrators to see how students perform in relation to other students
They help teachers & administrators to evaluate the school system, a school program, or a particular student
They are used to measure a student’s performance
Information about the PSSA:
Pennsylvania has adopted academic standards for each grade level in: Mathematics, Reading, Science, & Writing
The annual Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) is a standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment used to measure a student's attainment of the academic standards while also determining the degree to which school programs enable students to attain proficiency of the standard
How are the Questions Chosen?
All items were written by experienced content experts, field-tested by Pennsylvania students, and scored by teams of experienced trained readers with at least a four-year degree and a strong content-specific background
All items have been reviewed by committees of Pennsylvania teachers to determine their appropriateness for each grade level
Interpreting Your Child’s Results:
Performance Level:
o This indicates your student’s Performance Level for the given subject. (Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, Advanced)
How did your student perform in each reporting category?
o This indicates the total points possible and your student’s performance within each reporting category
Strength Profile:
o This provides you with an indication of your student’s performance within each of the reporting categories. The profile measure takes into account the difficulty of the items and can be used to help identify areas in which your student needs to improve and where he or she has performed more successfully
Minimum/Maximum Scaled Scores:
o The minimum and maximum scaled scores represent the minimum and maximum scores your child could have received on each assessment
Students With Disabilities
Accommodations are available for students with IEPs, 504 plans, ESL plans
