Academics

Information and Testing Tips for Families

As we approach the upcoming assessment season, we want to take a moment to highlight the importance of creating a positive and supportive testing environment for all of our students.

Academic assessments such as the PSSA, Keystone Exams, Acadience Reading, NWEA MAP and other standardized tests play an important role in understanding student learning and guiding school improvement. While these tests provide valuable data, we also recognize that they do not capture every aspect of a student’s abilities, creativity, or potential.

At Chartiers Valley, we are committed to helping students feel confident and prepared during testing. We know that a little stress can help students stay focused, but too much can lead to anxiety and discourage performance. That’s why we are taking steps to foster a healthy and encouraging approach to testing. These include:

• Promoting a positive outlook on assessments
• Offering practice opportunities
• Teaching helpful test-taking strategies
• Providing out-of-class academic support
• Encouraging self-care and healthy routines
• Sending motivational messages to build confidence

In partnership with our families, we can create the kind of environment that helps every student succeed. We encourage parents and guardians to support students by emphasizing effort over outcomes, building good habits at home, and reminding children that their worth is not defined by any single test.

As we continue to support student growth, we embrace the belief that learning is a journey focused on progress and development while still recognizing the importance of the results that come from hard work. Our goal is to help students thrive throughout the learning process and to celebrate the accomplishments that reflect their effort and determination.

We’ve created a short presentation titled "Creating a Positive Testing Environment" to outline our approach and offer helpful strategies for both home and school. We invite you to review it and join us in helping our students approach testing with confidence, calm, and a growth mindset.

Thank you for your continued support in helping all Chartiers Valley students grow, learn, and reach their full potential.

 

Click Here to view Presentation

 

 

Standardized Academics

The Chartiers Valley School District, in compliance with Chapter 4 regulations, utilizes the approved Pennsylvania Department of Education standards as the foundation for all curriculum and instruction in the district.  

Student academic achievement is  measured by the use of the PSSA and Keystone assessments. The PSSA is a standardized assessment provided to all students in grades 3-8 in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Students in grades three and eight are also assessed using the Science PSSA.

The Keystone Exams are standardized tests that assess student knowledge in the subject areas of Algebra 1, Literature, and Biology. Students are assessed at the end of the course, and the results are used to determine student proficiency in each subject area.

Pennsylvania Common Core Standards

The Pennsylvania Core Standards for English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science were approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education on March 1, 2014. Since the standards were approved, Chartiers Valley School District has been making ongoing updates to district curriculum to ensure that instruction is aligned to the expectations for learning that are set forth by the Pennsylvania Common Core Standards. 

Pennsylvania Academic Standards

The Pennsylvania Academic Standards are used as a foundation for curriculum and instruction in the Arts and Humanities, Career Education and Work, Civics and Government, Economics, Family and Consumer Sciences, Environment and Ecology, Geography, Health, Safety, Physical Education, Technology, and History. Currently, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has not created a standardized assessment to evaluate student proficiency on the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. The Chartiers Valley School District evaluates student academic success by providing students with teacher-created assessments.