PSSA Informational Evening

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PSSA Informational Evening

• Ferderbar and Lower South Elementary Schools
• February 25, 2014

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Goals for tonight

• Review PSSA testing information
• Share best practices and effective instruction to
  use at home for the upcoming PSSA

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Pennsylvania Academic Standards

• Define what each student should know and do in a
  core set of subjects
• Provide consistent targets for students,
  teachers, and districts
• Allow districts to measure student achievement

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PSSA Dates

• Math/Reading March 25-April 3, grades 3-5.
• Writing, April 8-10, grade 5.
• Science, April 29-30, grade 4.

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PSSAREADINGASSESSMENT2014
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Grade 3

• Three sessions
• Approximately 40-70 minutes each
• Target Passage Types for Common Passages
• - Two Stories
• - One Poem
• - One Informational
• - One Autobiography/Biography or one
  Practical/How-to/Advertisement
• 56 multiple-choice items (40 common items)
• 5 open-ended items 3 short answer (2 common) and
  2 evidence based selected-responses (EBSR).
• Students write ALL answers in test booklet

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Grades 4 5

• Three sessions
• Approximately 45-85 minutes each
• Target Passage Types (mix varies by grade)
• - Story
• - Poem
• - Informational
• - Autobiography/Biography
• - Practical/How-to/Advertisement
• - Essay/Editorial (grade 5)
• 56 Multiple-choice items (40 common items)
• 7 Open-ended items 4 short answer (all common
  items), 2 evidence-based selected responses, and
  1 text dependent analysis.
• Students write answers in answer booklet

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Reading strategies
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Multiple Choice Questions

• Both Reading and Math tests use multiple choice
• questions in the PSSA test
• Share strategies for answering these questions
• Embed multiple choice question structure in your
  reading
• practice
• Have students learn how to eliminate choices in
  the questions
• Embed multiple choice formats in math practice
• Show What you Know and why you did that

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Strategies

• Read the open stem with each of the answers
  individually.
• Cross out all the answers you know are wrong.
• Go back into the story and prove your answer.
• Try thinking of the answer before reading your
  choices.
• Find the correct answer in the passage and
  underline it.
• Go back into the text and find the statement or
  emphasized word.
• Use context clues.
• Highlight the key words in the question or text.
• Read all the answer choices and pick the one that
  best fits the question.
• Reread the sentence with the word or phrase
  choice in it.

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Variations

• Emphasis of a certain word or phrase
• Bold type
• in quotation marks
• Italics
• Underlined

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Essay Questions

• Read the question twice
• Decide on length of response
• Create a brief outline for a lengthy response
• Answer only the question and all parts of the
  question
• Use pictures or diagrams as needed to help
  explain your response
• Reread your completed response and make needed
  corrections

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Handouts

• Reading Comprehension Strategies
• Sample Open-Ended Prompts
• T-Chart

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Sample problem
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Handouts

• Philharmonic Express
• Reading Passage
• Sample Multiple Choice Questions
• Open Ended Response

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• PSSA MathAssessment2014

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Math 2014

• Five Reporting Categories
• Numbers and Operations
• Measurement
• Geometry
• Algebra
• Data Analysis

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Math 2014

• Student score comes from
• - 60 multiple choice questions
• - Three open-ended questions
• Students take
• - 72 multiple choice in grades 3 - 5
• - Four open-ended questions
• All grades will alternate subject areas with Math
  coming first.

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open-ended ITEMS

• Examples of how open-ended items might be
  phrased
• - Show or explain all your work.
• - Show all your work. Explain why you did
  each step.
• - Explain why something is true or false
• - Describe how doing something affects
  something else to find
• something, etc.
• Some notes about open-ended items
• - Guess and Check is a valid method but at least
  two incorrect guesses must be shown to receive
  full credit.
• - Not all open-ended items require a why.

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Steps for solving open-ended questions

• Read the entire question twice
• What does the question ask you to do?
• Highlight clue words (explain, show your work)
• Perform calculations
• Check for reasonableness
• Explain the WHY in your answer using words like
  because, to show, to find, etc.
• Use math vocabulary terms in your answer

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Math 2014

• Testing time is approximately 150-180 minutes for
  Math.
• Testing in Grades 3 - 5.
• Grade 3
• CANNOT use calculators
• Answers marked in test booklet
• Grade 4 and 5
• Calculators ARE permitted on all but the
  beginning few items.

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Math 2014

• Rulers and protractors will be provided where
  needed (grades 3 and 4 respectively). Students
  must use the rulers and protractors provided for
  the PSSA.
• Rulers will be used in grade 3 only and will be
  scaled to the ? inch and millimeter. Students
  will be required to measure to the ¼ inch and
  centimeter.
• Protractors will be used at grade 4 only.

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Sample problem
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Handouts

1. Sample Multiple Choice Questions
2. Sample Open Ended Response

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• PSSAWritingAssessment2014

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Writing 2014

• Alignment PA Academic Standards 1.4 1.5
• All Students in Grades 5
• Multiple-Choice measure conventions
• Writing Prompts measure composition skills and
  conventions
• Mode-specific Scoring Guidelines for composition
• Conventions scored separately

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2014 Writing Test Format

• 3 sections (may administer sections 1 2 in same
  session)
• Responses marked/written in test booklet
• Scratch paper for pre-writing should be provided
• 2 lined pages for each prompt response

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Sample problem
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Handouts

1. Sample Writing Prompt

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• PSSA Science Assessment2014

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PSSA Science 2014

• Grade 4
• 58 Multiple Choice items (scored)
• Five open-ended items (two points each)
• Four Reporting Categories
• The Nature of Science
  
• Biological Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Earth and Space Sciences

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Sample problem
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Handouts

1. Sample Multiple Choice Questions
2. Sample Open Ended Response

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Foundations for Success at Home
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PRACTICE PACKETS
PIZZA PARTY!
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• Questions