PA Standards Aligned System, Common Core Curriculum and Keystone Exams

I have just returned from a grueling 3.5 day inservice developed and delivered by PDE. The purpose was to teach/orient teachers, curriculum people, administrators and post-secondary institutions about/to “SAS” (Standards Aligned System).

What is the PA Standards Aligned System? It is “a comprehensive approach to support student achievement across the Commonwealth.” This will be a great resource for educators. Early focus for better instruction and learning: writing routinely, text complexity and discussion. If you haven’t looked this over yet, now is the time.

According to PDE, this is the official Common Core website–do not be confused by others! We (Pennsylvania educators) will have a three year transition to the common core. Our first focus will be on English and math.

We will concentrate on learning trajectories, rigor (Web’s DOK) and college and career readiness. (Note: In the 21st Century college and career readiness refer to the same knowledge and skill set-for more on this topic read Ken Gray’s Getting Real: Helping Teenagers Find Their Future) Rigor in English and math will also be followed and measured through literacy, science and social studies. PA students will be “doing, not just studying.”

You will be interested to know that Common Core standards do not have anchors. The result will be more standards than current PA core standards. PDE will be developing crosswalks from our traditional PA core standards to the new common core (AKA “CC”).

For a deeper look at CC

College & Career Readiness (CC)

Keystone Exams Overview