Beginning in the 2005-06 school year, tests must be administered every year in grades three through eight in math and reading. Beginning in 2007-08, science achievement also must be tested. Each state, district and school will be expected to make adequate yearly progress toward meeting state standards.

In Pennsylvania, the standards for these academic subject areas have been finalized, and the state now is focusing its efforts on how it will assess student achievement. This article examines how Pennsylvania will implement these testing requirements for various groups of students.

Assessment changes

• Anticipated changes in state assessments include supplementing the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, which currently is administered to students in grades three, five and eight, with statewide assessments for grades four, six and seven in reading and math, beginning with the 2005-06 school year. A science assessment will be added for grades four, seven and 10 beginning in the 2007-08 school year. There will be only one statewide test in each subject and grade level; there will not be an option for schools to choose from multiple assessments. (Last fall, the state was planning to use a mixed-model type of assessment system, but it since has reversed its decision.) PDE will be working on a standards-setting process similar to that used for the PSSA to determine the criteria for performance levels for the new tests. PDE is considering options for accomplishing this task.

Students with disabilities

• The statewide assessment is required for all students in public school entities including: all public schools, intermediate units, charter schools, state-owned schools, career and technical schools, private residential rehabilitative institutions, approved private schools and juvenile detention facilities. Pennsylvania includes all students with disabilities in the accountability system. According to the state plan, several valid accommodations are offered to ensure access to the PSSA for students with disabilities. The PSSA is being reviewed, and the range of questions will be expanded to provide greater accessibility for those students with disabilities who participate in the test.
• Additionally, the Pennsylvania System of Alternate Assessment (PASA) has been designed specifically for those students with more severe disabilities whose IEP teams have determined that the PSSA is not appropriate. The administration of this assessment is based upon six rigorous criteria, and it is aligned to the state academic standards. The 0.5% of students who participate in the PASA will be included in the accountability system at the school and district levels. It is anticipated, consistent with proposed NCLB regulations, that these students will be among the up to 1% permitted to be measured against standards that are not at grade level. They will be included as part of the overall reporting, or through an alternative assessment report, as the final regulations may permit.
• All assessments other than the PASA are based upon the academic content standards for the grade in which the student is enrolled. Pennsylvania does not have, nor is it constructing, "out-of-level" testing. Reporting and accountability also are commensurate with the test administration. For example, test results of students with disabilities are reported at the grade level in which they participated. The results of students with disabilities are "counted" in the same manner as all other students; there are no adjustments to scores.
• Pennsylvania will be expanding the PASA with the implementation of the required administration of statewide assessments in grades four, six and seven. The test will be aligned with the state academic standards.
  Mobile students
• The accountability system also includes mobile students. Schools are accountable for mobile students in the same manner as for other students. The "full academic year" criterion is applied to all students. (This criterion means the students are enrolled from Oct. 1 to the close of the testing period.) In Pennsylvania, it is not uncommon for students to move from one school to another within the same district during an academic year. In these instances, the school in which the student is enrolled at the time of the assessment bears responsibility for test administration; however, the district, rather than the school, will be accountable for the student's performance.
• Pennsylvania does not have a longitudinal tracking system in place, but is investigating more effective ways to ensure that all mobile students are counted. In addition, Pennsylvania intends to shorten the period of time (the "testing window") during which school districts may administer the PSSA so there is even greater uniformity throughout the state in terms of the dates of test administration. A shorter testing window also will facilitate the objective of ensuring that schools, districts and the state account for all mobile students.

Limited English Proficient students

• Pennsylvania is serving as the leader in a consortium of states (along with Accountability Works and Educational Testing Service) to develop an English Language Proficiency assessment that will meet the requirements of the NCLB Act. It is anticipated that the assessment will be ready for implementation in the spring of 2005. Until that assessment is available, districts will be required to administer, at the end of each school year, a state-approved English language proficiency assessment that measures the domains of comprehension, listening, speaking, reading and writing.
• Limited English Proficient students also will be included in the overall accountability system in the same manner as other students. The assessment results of every LEP student enrolled in the school for the full academic year will be included in the school's count. The results of LEP students enrolled in different schools within the district during the academic year will be counted in the district's results, and the results of LEP students enrolled in more than one district in Pennsylvania will be counted in the state's results.
• All LEP students are required to take the statewide assessment, and they will receive results regardless of the duration of their enrollment in particular schools. Currently, Pennsylvania does not have native-language versions of its statewide assessments. Therefore, LEP students take the English version of the assessment (based on grade-level standards) with or without accommodations. For language groups of 5,000 or more students, the department plans to provide native-language assessments to recently enrolled students by the spring of 2005. The possibility of other alternative assessments for newly arrived English Language Learners also is being explored.