PSSA AND YOUR CHILD By Mr. Richard Poole and Mrs. Kathryn

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PSSA AND YOUR CHILD

• By
• Mr. Richard Poole
• and
• Mrs. Kathryn Eshelman

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INTRODUCTION

• Without Challenge
• There Is No Achievement
• Author unknown

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QUESTIONS WE WILL ANSWER

• What does PSSA stand for?
• What are the PSSAs?
• Who has to take the PSSAs?
• How are the PSSAs are scored?
• What subjects are tested on the PSSAs?
• What the PSSAs mean to your child?
• What do the PSSAs mean to Jackson?
• How to prepare your child for the PSSAs?

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WHAT DOES PSSA STAND FOR?

• PENNSYLVANIA SYSTEM
• OF
• SCHOOL ASSESMENT

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WHAT ARE THE PSSAs

• In 1999 Pennsylvania adopted academic standards
  for Reading, Mathematics, Writing, Speaking, and
  Listening.
• The standards identify what a student should know
  and be able to do at varying grade levels.

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WHAT ARE THE PSSAs

• The annual PSSA is a standards based assessment
  used to measure a students attainment of the
  academic standards.

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WHAT ARE THE PSSAs

• The PSSA is a criterion-referenced assessment.

(Definition Criterion-Referenced) A test
designed to determine if a student has learned
the material taught in a specific grade
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WHO HAS TO TAKE THE PSSAs

• Every Pennsylvania student in
• 5th
• 8th
• 11th
• In the subject areas of
• Math, Reading, Writing (Field Test)

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HOW ARE THE PSSAs SCORED
PSSA Level Descriptors
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HOW ARE THE PSSAs SCORED

• Below Basic- This level reflects inadequate
  academic performance and little understanding of
  the content
• Basic- This level reflects marginal academic
  performance and a partial understanding of the
  content

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HOW ARE THE PSSAs SCORED

• Proficient- This level reflects satisfactory
  academic performance and a solid understanding of
  the content
• Advanced- This level reflects superior academic
  performance and an in-depth understanding of the
  content

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WHAT SUBJECTS ARE TESTED ON THE PSSAs

• 5th grade students will be tested in
• READING
• MATH
• WRITING
• field test taken in February

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WHAT DO THE PSSAs MEAN TO YOUR CHILD

• Indicate what your child has learned based upon
  Pennsylvania standards
• Indicate if your child proficient in the subject
  area
• Gives your child an opportunity to show what they
  know

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WHAT DO THE PSSAs MEAN TO JACKSON

• Required to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
  every year
• School held to higher standards every year under
  AYP
• Data from PSSAs is analyzed to improve
  instruction and provide interventions for students

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WHAT DO THE PSSAs MEAN TO JACKSON

• The last two years Jackson has made AYP. In the
  fall we received a Keystone award for two
  consecutive years of AYP

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HOW TO PREPARE YOUR CHILD FOR THE PSSAs

• TEST WEEK TIPS
• Be sure your child gets plenty of sleep
• Limit your childs TV and video time
• Give them a hearty breakfast every day
• Speak in a positive manner about the tests
• Make sure the child gets to school on time

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HOW TO PREPARE YOUR CHILD FOR THE PSSAs

• TAKING THE
• MATH
• TEST

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MULTIPLE CHOICE STRATEGIES

• Read the question carefully
• What is the question asking
• Read the answer choices
• Are any immediately wrong
• Do the math and then pick the answer that best
  fits the choices
• READ THE QUESTION AGAIN AND CHECK YOUR ANSWER

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MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMPLES

• Mike, Gwen, Pat, and Sue shared two
• oranges. Mike ate 3/8 of the oranges, Gwen
• ate 1/4, Pat ate 1/8, and Sue ate 4/16.
• Who ate the most?
• A Mike
• B Gwen
• C Pat
• D Sue

ANSWER A
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MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMPLES

• How many edges does this square
• pyramid have?
• A 4
• B 5
• C 8
• D 9

ANSWER C
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PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES

• Read the question carefully
• What is the question asking for?
• Show your work
• Make sure you write the work
• Write the correct units
• DO NOT ERASE YOUR WORK!
• Check your answer for mistakes

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PROBLEM SOLVING EXAMPLES

• A book has 150 pages. Every page is numbered. How
  many digits are used? Explain how you figured it
  out

ANSWER 9180153342 DIGITS
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PROBLEM SOLVING EXAMPLES

• Five students were competing against each other
  to see who could read the most books in a year
  Juan read twice as many books as Freddy. Johnnys
  total was 4 more books than Juans. Randy read
  four more books than Johnny. Finally Tim topped
  them all with 32 books, which was 4 more than
  Randy read. How many books did all five students
  read in total? Explain how you got your answer

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PROBLEM SOLVING EXAMPLES
ANSWER 3228242010 114 Books
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HOW TO PREPARE YOUR CHILD FOR THE PSSAs

• TAKING THEREADING TEST

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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

• Malia slipped quietly out of bed and
• out of the house. She sat still and silent on
• the back lanai as she watched the morning
• spread across the sky. She closed her eyes
• and felt the sunshine warming her body. She
• heard the wind whispering through her hair.
•  

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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

• As used in the passage, what does the
• word lanai mean?
• A a bed
• B a porch
• C a bicycle
• D a pillow

ANSWER B
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OPEN ENDED QUESTION STRATEGIES

• Read the question prompt first
• Underline what it is asking you to do
• Respond to the question
• Read the response to check for accuracy.
• Does the response make sense?
• Have you responded to what the prompt asked for?

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QUESTIONS

• PARENT QUESTIONSand
• CONCERNS