Phoenixville Area School District

Keystone Background Information 

The Keystone Exams are end-of-course assessments designed to evaluate proficiency in academic content. Beginning with the class of 2022–2023, students must demonstrate proficiency on the Algebra I, Literature, and Biology Keystone Exams to graduate or fulfill one of the other pathways provided to graduate. Students will be offered multiple opportunities to take the Keystones throughout their high school career.   

Students should take the Keystone Exams at or near the end of a Keystone-related course. The students’ results are banked until their junior year for accountability purposes and until their senior year for graduation purposes. Some students who previously completed a Keystone-related course but did not take the Keystone Exam will also participate for accountability purposes. All students who take a Keystone Exam may re-take the exam.  

The Keystone Exams will be administered three times each year—winter, spring, and summer. Specific administration dates will be published by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. 

Students who do not score Proficient on a Keystone exam will have an opportunity to retest.   Students who did not take the test during the assigned testing session will make up the test in an upcoming testing session.   

Students who took the exam in the Winter of 2021 or Spring of 2022 and did not score proficient will have an opportunity to retest.  Parents will be contacted via email regarding the Winter exam.   

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Should you desire to opt your child out of testing for religious reasons, please consider the following.
• The state of Pennsylvania requires additional criteria for graduation, the Act 158 graduation pathways. One method students can use to meet these criteria is a score of proficient or advanced on all three Keystone assessments. Opting out of Keystone assessments removes this option. For more information, visit Statewide High School Graduation Requirement (pa.gov).
• When your child does not participate in testing, we struggle to get an accurate assessment of our programs. 
• The students will only be taking one section of the test each day.  Students that opt-out will be expected to come to school and will be assigned alternate work. 
• Participating in Keystone Exams prepares students for future high stakes tests such as the SAT and professional testing.  Many future professions require high stakes testing such as healthcare, law, business, and education.  

Parents who wish to opt-out their child from Keystone testing for religious reasons must do the following:
• Send a request for religious exemption to the building principal and the Superintendent no later than TBD.
• Contact your child’s principal to review the test (reviews will be scheduled once tests arrive at the buildings)
• The principal will schedule an appointment with you
• Review of the test must be in the presence of an administrator or designee 
• You may not take photos or record the test in any way 
• You must sign the security certificate 

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Information for Parents or Guardians Pennsylvania Keystone Exams

What are the Keystone Exams? The Keystone Exams are end-of-course assessments designed to evaluate proficiency in academic content. Beginning with the class of 2022–2023, students must demonstrate proficiency on the Algebra I, Literature, and Biology Keystone Exams to graduate or fulfill one of the other pathways provided to graduate. Students will be offered multiple opportunities to take the Keystones throughout their high school career.

Who will participate in the Keystone Exams? In 2012–13, the Algebra I, Literature, and Biology Keystone Exams replaced the 11th-grade Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA) in math, reading, and science for purposes of student, educator, and school accountability. Students should take the Keystone Exams at or near the end of a Keystone-related course. The students’ results are banked until their junior year for accountability purposes and until their senior year for graduation purposes. Some students who previously completed a Keystone-related course but did not take the Keystone Exam will also participate for accountability purposes. All students who take a Keystone Exam may re-take the exam.

When will the exams be offered? The Keystone Exams will be administered three times each year—winter, spring, and summer. Specific administration dates will be published by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Who decided what Keystone Exams should measure? Groups of educators from across Pennsylvania chose the areas of knowledge on which the Keystone Exams are based. The groups included teachers, supervisors, curriculum directors, and college specialists. Other groups of Pennsylvania educators also reviewed, edited, and approved exam questions.

What is assessed on the Keystone Exams? Pennsylvania adopted the Pennsylvania Core Standards, standards aligned with expectations for success in college and the workplace. The Keystones are designed to measure these standards.

How long is a Keystone Exam administration? There is no time limit for a student to complete a Keystone Exam. Each Keystone Exam should take the typical student two to three hours to complete. There are two modules on each test, and each module (or Test Session) of the Keystone Exam should take one to 1.5 hours to complete. Districts can administer the Keystone Exam modules across two days or divided across the morning and the afternoon of the same day.

What are the available formats for administering the Keystone Exams? The Keystone Exams are available in both online and paper and pencil formats. Districts will determine if online, paper and pencil, or both formats will be used locally. Makeup exams will also be administered in either online or paper and pencil format.

Will students have an opportunity to experience online testing before taking a Keystone Exam online? Tutorials and online training programs have been developed for the Keystone Exams. The PA Online Assessment Student Tutorial uses pictures, motion, and sound to present visual and verbal descriptions of the properties and features of the PA Online Assessment system. Students are allowed to repeat the Student Tutorial as often as desired and needed. The Online Tools Training (OTT) provides an introductory experience using the PA online assessment software allowing students to observe and try out features of the PA online assessment software prior to the actual assessment. Within the OTT, students also have the opportunity to practice typing responses in a narrative format, graphing functions, and entering equations using an equation builder tool. The online exam also has a “Help” feature that is available to the student during the exam. 

What types of questions are on the Keystone Exams? The Keystone Exams will include multiple-choice questions and constructed-response, or open-ended, questions. For each Keystone Exam, approximately 60  percent to 75 percent of the total score will be  from multiple-choice questions and 25  percent to  40  percent of the total score will be from constructed-response questions.

How are the written responses to constructed-response questions scored? The written responses for constructed-response questions are scored by evaluators trained in applying a pre-determined scoring system. Scores are based on content only. Spelling and punctuation are not included as part of the scoring process. Most constructed-response questions require students to show their work or explain their reasoning. These Keystone Exam questions will ask students to explain, analyze, describe, or compare. Some questions will also require students to perform calculations or create graphs, plots, or drawings.

How are the results reported? Keystone Exam scores will be processed as quickly as possible and provided to the districts. Two copies of the individual student report for all Keystone Exams will be sent to the school districts and charter schools. One copy should be sent home to parents/guardians; the other is kept by the school/ district. School-level reports will be used for curricular and planning purposes. School districts and charter schools may publish the results of Keystone Exams  for  each school. The state will also release school-by-school exam data.

May parents see the Keystone Exams? Parents and guardians may review the Keystone Exams if they believe they may be in conflict with their religious beliefs by making arrangements with the School Test Coordinator once the exams arrive at the school. Confidentiality agreements must be signed, and no copies of the Keystone Exams or notes about exam questions will be permitted to leave the school. If, after reviewing the Keystone Exams, parents or guardians do not want their child to participate in one or all of the exams due to a conflict with their religious beliefs, they may write a letter indicating they have a religious objection to the school district superintendent or charter school CAO to request their child be excused from the exam(s).

Report Testing Irregularities Parents/guardians who believe that a testing irregularity may have occurred may email [email protected] or call 844-418-1651 to report the incident.

For additional information about the Keystone Exams, visit the PDE website at www.education.pa.gov or contact your school district

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Electronic Devices

Dear Parent/Guardian:
In an era of cell phones, smartphones and other electronic devices which can easily photograph and instantly share 
photographs, confidential and secure test materials can be easily compromised. Not only is it expensive to replace 
a compromised test item, the material contained in the PSSA and Keystone Exams is copyrighted property of the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Copying or duplicating the material from the assessment, including the taking of 
a photograph of secure assessment material, is a violation of the federal Copyright Act. Penalties for violations of 
the Copyright Act may include the cost of replacing the compromised test item(s) or fines of no less than $750 up to 
$30,000 for a single violation (17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.).

In order to ensure reliable test results and to avoid the cost of replacing test items, the Department of Education 
requires schools to set rules and take certain steps to protect test materials. Electronic devices such as but not 
limited to cell phones, smartphones, smartwatches, E-readers, Nooks, Kindles, iPods, tablets, camera-ready devices, 
and any other electronic device which can be used to photograph or duplicate test materials, access the internet 
and/or communicate with others during the administration of the PSSA or Keystone Exams are not permitted in any 
testing site. Please speak with your child and let your child know that the possession and/or use of a cell phone or 
other electronic device during the administration of the PSSA or Keystone Exams will result in consequences.

You will be contacted by the school if your child is discovered using and/or having a cell phone or other unapproved 
electronic device during the administration of the PSSA or Keystone Exams. Students who ignore this directive will 
be subject to the school’s discipline policy and the Department of Education’s requirement that the student’s test 
will not be scored and the student will be required to retake the entire exam. The electronic device will be held by 
school staff, and the device’s stored photographs and other functions will be examined with your permission. You 
may request to be present when the electronic device is examined. If a photograph of the PSSA or Keystone Exam 
is discovered or if permission to search other functions of the electronic device is refused, the device will be held by 
the school staff. The Pennsylvania Department of Education holds the copyright to all material contained within the 
PSSA and Keystone Exams. The Pennsylvania Department of Education will be contacted and further action may be 
taken.

If, after testing is complete and test materials have been returned, it is discovered that a student used and/or had a 
cell phone or other unapproved electronic device during the administration of the test, the school’s discipline policy 
will be followed and the student’s test will not be scored.