Phoenixville Area School District

Assessment Calendar

Dear Families, 

As spring begins, so does preparation for the PSSA.  All students in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades will be taking the English/Language Arts and Math portions of the assessment. Additionally, fifth and eighth graders will take the Science PSSA. The information obtained from the PSSA serves as a valuable tool for planning future school programs, student advanced placement, developing curriculum, in-service training, and informing the public about student achievement.  

Families may help students prepare for the PSSA by reinforcing the importance of the assessment, encouraging them to get plenty of sleep the night before and providing them with a good breakfast on the morning of test days.  Also, families can reassure their children that the assessment gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their learning and helps teachers to plan the best possible instruction for them. 

The assessments will be administered in the morning on the following dates. 

Grade 3-8, English/Language Arts, April 20-22
Grade 3-8, Mathematics, April 27-28 
Grade 5, 8, Science, April 29-30  

Should you desire to opt your child out of testing for religious reasons, please refrence the information below and follow the directions. Notifications of opt out should be submitted by April 10th.  

Before you decide to opt out of testing, please consider the following:
•PSSAs are a factor in the advanced placement of middle school students in high school level classes.
•When your child does not participate in testing, we struggle to get an accurate assessment of our programs.
•Students that opt out will be expected to come to school and will be assigned alternate work.
•Participating in PSSAs 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.

Finally, we are asking for your support with cell phones. The state has made it very clear that students are not permitted to have electronic devices (including smart watches) in testing sessions. All electronic devices should be left at home on testing days or turned off and placed in the students' backpacks before entering the testing classroom. If a student is found to be in possession of an electronic device in a testing session, a report must be filed with the Pennsylvania State Department of Education and the student’s scores could be invalidated. We ask that you please reinforce this with your child(ren). 

Families may learn more about the PSSA from the Department of Education website. 

Sincerely, 
Elementary School Principals

Additional Documentation
Electronic Devices

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