The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires school districts in Pennsylvania to administer the Algebra I Keystone Exam to all students who are enrolled in Algebra I to meet federal, state and Mars Area School District graduation requirements.
Mars Area Middle School will use the following schedule to complete the Algebra I Keystone exam:
- Day 1 – Monday, May 24th – Module #1 – Algebra I Keystone Exam
- Day 2 – Tuesday, May 25th – Module #2 – Algebra I Keystone Exam
Eligible Live Stream Instruction (LSI) students are invited to complete the Algebra I Keystone Exam. LSI students should arrive by 7:40 AM at the main entrance and report to their homeroom testing location. LSI parents should pick-up their student by 10:09 AM each day.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires students to score Proficient or Advanced on the Algebra I end-of-course Keystone Exam. Students who do not score proficient on the exam will have the opportunity to re-test in the winter or spring testing windows.
Attached, you will find an ACT 158 Pennsylvania Graduation Requirements document that explains several pathways to meet graduation requirements. We believe your child is very capable of meeting the Keystone Proficiency Pathway. We encourage your child to take this exam so that they can get one-step closer to meeting ACT 158 requirements as early as possible.
ACT 158 PA Graduation Requirements.pdf
Parent Information - PA Departement of Ed - Keystone Exams.pdf
The results of all Keystone Exams will be reported to you as a parent or guardian. In addition to individual student results, the district will receive subject area results that show how well our students are performing on these exams. School personnel will use the information to analyze our educational programs.
If you have any questions regarding the Keystone Exams, please visit the Standards Aligned System website at www.pdesas.org or contact the Mars Area Middle School at 724-625-3145.
We will begin testing promptly at the start times listed above. Please do not schedule any appointments on the mornings of the testing dates and make sure your child attends school on time.