Issue: Assessments, Testing and NCLB

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Graduation Competency Assessments

• NEWS/UPDATES
  • Letter from Rep. Sam Smith, House Republican leader, and Rep. Paul Clymer, Republican Education Committee chairman, to Gov. Edward Rendell requesting the Department of Education refrain from awarding the contract for the Graduation Competency Assessments. (January 2009)
       
  • PSBA's GCA White Paper (December 2008)
    • Letter from Tom Gentzel to Pa. Dept. of Education outlining concerns with the proposed study.
      • PDE's response
    • Letter and questions from the chairs of House and Senate Education committees seeking clarification of local assessment validation process.
    • Comments from the Independent Regulatory Reveiw Commission regarding the for GCAs, the cost as well as the State Board's authority over the issue.
    • Letter from Sen. Jane Orie to her Senate colleagues asking for their support for prospective legislation to halt further development on the GCAs.
  • Chapter 4 Regulatory Analysis form -- required for all agencies proposing new regulations.
  • GCA one-page information page -- a good "leave-behind" for new legislators.
  • Comments for the Pa. Human Relations Commission focus on the potential effects of testing on poor and underserved students.
  • Achieve sets new approach for high school reform, assessment changes for ADP states (December 2008)
    • The Achieve Agenda (March 2008)
      Achieve, Inc., the organization that formed the American Diploma Project in 2005, recently released its 2008 annual progress report on the alignment of high school policies.

  • House Education Committee formal comments on the GCA proposal  (6/26/2008)
    The House Education Committee asked the State Board of Education to “step back and re-evaluate” the GCA proposal, citing several concerns with the plan. The committee also recommended that the State Board, in lieu of moving forward with the proposed regulatory changes, conduct an analysis/audit of school district local assessments to determine if they are aligned with the state academic standards. 

  • PSBA’s formal comments to the State Board of Education (June 13, 2008)
    Explanation:  Here are PSBA’s comments to the State Board during the formal public comment period for the GCA proposal. Also Included is a cover letter from Executive Director Thomas Gentzel.

  • Tim Allwein's GCA Testimony presented May 14 before the Senate Education Committee
  • Proposed GCA regulations and correspondence to Senator James J. Rhoades (5/2/2008)
    On Friday, May 2, 2008, the State Board of Education delivered the proposed regulations providing for the GCAs to the House and Senate Education Committees. The proposed regulations will not be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin for the week of May 3, 2008, but may be published within the next 2 weeks. Once the proposed regulations are published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the formal review period begins and there will be 30 days for public comment. 
  • State approves GCA plan
    An update of what is happening regarding the GCA plan and what steps PSBA is taking.
    • Resolution opposing proposed high school Graduation Competency Assessments pdf
    • About the resolution and where to send your resolution
• A Call to Action: GCA Regulations Published; Public Comment May 22-June 16
  The State Board of Education published the proposed regulations, which opens a 30-day comment period. Official comments must be submitted before June 16; comments submitted earlier must be resubmitted.
• Graduation Requirements: Local assessments & the GCAs
  Distributed at the May Legislative Advocacy Conference, read PSBA's position on graduation competency testing
• Description of the GCA plan
  The GCA proposal approved by the State Board of Education on Jan. 17, 2008, would amend the existing regulations under Title 22, Chapter 4 as outlined here.

• Full GCA proposal online
  To access the formal GCA proposal, including the Regulatory Analysis Form, please see the following link: http://www.irrc.state.pa.us/Documents/SRCDocuments/Regulations/2696/AGENCY/Document-8890.pdf

• Joint Statement in Opposition to GCAs
  A statement endorsed by more than 20 organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania citizens including parents, teachers, students, children with disabilities, gifted children, members of minority groups, school principals, school superintendents, and school board members, oppose regulations proposed by the State Board of Education that essentially would mandate high stakes standardized high school exit exams. 
  
• Editorial: Exit exams aren't aiding education
  An editorial that was written for Pennsylvania media by Monty Neill and Lisa Guisbond of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing.
• GCAs: How they will move through the regulatory review process
  

  The regulatory review process is a complex, two-part collection of activities that begins once the promulgating state agency gives initial approval.

• GCA Viewpoint: The PSBA Facts vs. PDE's 'Fact vs. Fiction' packet
  PSBA's fact sheet (left link) was developed to challenge the information distributed by the Dept. of Education. Click on the PDE site link to more easily compare PSBA's facts with PDE's "facts."
  

• Tredyffrin-Easttown School District GCA video
  One example of a school district’s efforts to inform the public about the negative consequences of the GCA proposal.

• PA State Board of Education