PSSA Study Guide

The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) assesses students in grades 3-11 in a number of areas. The students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 are graded on their reading and comprehension skills along with math skills. Students in grades 5, 8, and 11 are also tested on their core writing skills. Grades 4, 8, and 11 will be tested on the Natural Sciences alongside all other tests.

Students who take the tests will have them administered on separate days so as not to overwhelm the student. Schools often have test days throughout the week, so parents and students can prepare ahead of schedule. The student receives one of four grades from each portion of the exam.

* Advanced
* Proficient
* Basic
* Below Basic

The grades help school administrators, educators, and parents to see how far along a child’s academic development have gone. With the test scores, many educators create a curriculum devoted to strengthening poor skill sets and fine tuning other areas for development.

Students are tested on material complimentary to their particular grade. At no time will material be introduced first in the test. The arithmetic and problem solving portions of the exam may introduce new problems, but will not introduce things outside their scope of knowledge. The reading and comprehension portion of the exam will ask a student to answer questions related to a passage. The passage will be in the level of reading skill they should have at their age.

The tests are typically administered late in the final semester, before summer break.

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PSSA Study Guide