The Keystone Algebra Exam will be administered to any student who completed Algebra I during the 2013-2014 school year on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. This assessment measures student achievement in Operations and Linear Equations/Inequations, Linear Functions and Data Organization. Students will be presented with multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Some questions will also require students to create graphs, plots, or drawings.
The Keystone Literature Exam will be administered to all 10th grade students on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Students will respond to both multiple choice and open-ended tasks in these tests. These assessments are intended to evaluate performances of individual students and to provide comparative data about the school’s reading and literature programs.
The Keystone Biology Exam will be administered to any student enrolled in Biology during the 2013-2014 school year on Thursday, May 15, 2014. The biology assessment will address the concepts of Cells, Cell Processes, and Continuity and Unity of Life. Students will respond to both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. These Keystone Exam questions will ask students to explain, analyze, describe, or compare in their answers.
A copy of the individual student results will be sent to the school district for distribution to parents, teachers, guidance counselors and principals. The state will not receive any reports with individual names included. Results will be reported by school for curricular and planning purposes. School districts will publish the results of Keystone Exam testing for each school. The state will also release school-by-school assessment data.
If parents do not want their child to respond to a specific prompt or to participate in the assessment due to a conflict with their religious beliefs, they must first review the tests by contacting the High School Guidance Office on or after May 5, 2014. They must then write a note to the School District Superintendent, Mr. Steve Gobble, to excuse their child from the assessment.