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PSSA/Keystone Testing » Scheduling the Assessment

Scheduling the Assessment

PDE allows flexibility for LEAs to choose specific testing dates that work within the PDE-established testing windows.  All LEAs are required to provide PDE with the specific dates and times it has selected for administering the PSSAs.  LEAs were required to submit this information for each of their schools through the eDIRECT Enrollment System.
 
For the ELA assessment, the first administration must not be scheduled before April 15, 2019, and all ELA assessments must be completed by April 26, 2019.  The mathematics and science assessments must not be scheduled before April 29, 2019, and must conclude on May 3, 2019.  All assessments must be completed by May 3, 2019.
 
When possible, the first days of the PDE-established testing window should be used for administering the assessment.  Scheduling the assessment to occur at the beginning of the window will allow the school more flexibility if any unusual circumstances delay the anticipated start date.  It may be advisable to postpone the assessment if a large percentage of the school population is absent on any selected day or days, or if a disruption or event (such as a bomb threat, fire in the school, plumbing or heating problems, death of a classmate, etc.) may have caused a level of distress that could result in students performing below their capabilities.  LEA personnel are urged to keep the best interests of the students in mind when making a determination to reschedule assessment dates.  Administering the assessment in the early portion of the assessment windows should eliminate most scheduling problems.
Make-Up Sessions
 
If a student is absent during a testing session, upon return he or she should resume or begin the assessment in the same section as the rest of the testing population.  The section that was missed due to absence should be made up in a seperate session.  If multiple sections are missed, the make-up session(s) must follow the order of the booklet.
 
  1. There is not a seperate window to facilitate make-up testing.  Schools should administer make-ups as soon as possible throughout the PSSA testing window.  In all cases, schools should follow the procedures established by their district when scheduling make-up testing.
  2. If a student becomes ill (as determined by a school nurse, health room aide, principal, etc.) during the administration of a section of the assessment and the student is unable to complete the section, the student may complete that section during a make-up session upon returning to school, starting with the item the student was completing when the illness occurred.  The student must be monitored closely so that responses to previous items cannot be changed.
  3. Cyber Charter Schools must develop and implement plans that provide for make-up sessions for students absent during testing session.