PDE Will Not Develop Additional Keystone Exams

Last week, Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq issued a letter to Senate Education Committee Chairmen Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) and Sen. Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester) confirming that the PA Department of Education (PDE) will not be developing any additional Keystone Exams, including tests for English Composition and Civics and Government, that were required to be implemented by the 2019-20 school year. According to Dumaresq, both Chapter 4 regulations and Act 82 of 2012 subject the availability of these exams to state funding, and the state does not have the resources to move forward at this time. Instead, the focus will be on assuring success on the three existing Keystone Exams (Algebra I, Literature, Biology) and other assessments already in place. Dumaresq also acknowledged legislation in the Senate Education Committee under Senate Bill 1244 introduced by Sen. Dinniman that would limit the Keystone Exams to just the three existing tests.