Program Update

Since adoption of the Keystone Exams last year, nearly 480 school districts and 73 charter and career and technical education (CTE) centers have now signed on to offer one or more of the Exams beginning this spring.

The overwhelmingly positive response by educators can be traced to the Team PA-funded communications plan, which was made possible through a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Lenfest Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Background
Seeing there was a need to enhance education in Pennsylvania, Team PA built a coalition of individuals and groups across the commonwealth that became known as SmarterPA.

SmarterPA launched an educational outreach to business leaders with the goal of establishing more effective and rigorous high school graduation requirements. The reforms will help ensure better accountability and support for both students and teachers, and will replace the PSSA tests with a series of smaller, more effective assessment tools to help ensure instruction and student support, beginning with the class of 2015.

A major goal was achieved with the implementation of new graduation standards, which should help students be better prepared to either enter the workforce or the next step in their academic pursuits.

SmarterPA ran a public awareness initiative, built a grassroots coalition and conducted a highly successful communications and marketing program.

Working with SmarterPA, a number of Foundation board members and partners also testified and wrote editorials, giving their support for the urgent need for the development of strong, consistent statewide standards and assessments for students looking to receive high school diplomas.

The end result ensures students graduating from a Pennsylvania high school will have a consistently valuable diploma and businesses and institutions of higher learning will be assured that students are properly prepared for the rigors of the working world or the next phase of their academic pursuit.