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The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) is Pennsylvania's statewide standardized test for students in grades 3-8. The PSSA measures mastery of the Pennsylvania Core Standards (PA Core), which are Pennsylvania's own rigorous academic standards derived from but distinct from Common Core. For the 2025-2026 school year, PSSA has made a historic transition to fully online administration for the first time — all students will take the test on computers rather than paper. The PSSA tests English Language Arts and Mathematics in grades 3-8, with Science tested in grades 5 and 8.
2026 testing windows: ELA: April 20-24, 2026; Math: April 27 - May 1, 2026. Each subject has a dedicated one-week testing window.
| Grade | Subjects Tested |
|---|---|
| Grade 3 | English Language Arts and Mathematics |
| Grade 4 | English Language Arts and Mathematics |
| Grade 5 | English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science |
| Grade 6 | English Language Arts and Mathematics |
| Grade 7 | English Language Arts and Mathematics |
| Grade 8 | English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science |
Pennsylvania uses the following performance levels. 'Proficient' is the state target. Pennsylvania uses 4 levels: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. Scoring 'Proficient' means your child has met the grade-level PA Core Standards.
Student demonstrates minimal understanding of PA Core Standards and needs substantial support.
Student demonstrates partial understanding of PA Core Standards with significant gaps remaining.
Student demonstrates grade-level mastery of the PA Core Standards — this is the state target.
Student demonstrates superior academic performance and deep understanding beyond grade-level expectations.
For the first time ever, all PSSA tests are administered online. Previously, Pennsylvania used paper-and-pencil testing. Students will need familiarity with computer-based testing tools including digital calculators, text highlighting, and drag-and-drop question types.
Unlike many states with multi-week windows, Pennsylvania assigns each subject a specific one-week window. ELA is tested the week of April 20, and Math the week of April 27. This concentrated schedule means preparation timing is critical.
PSSA includes multiple-choice, constructed response (short answer and essay), and technology-enhanced items. ELA includes text-dependent analysis essays. Math requires students to show their work and explain reasoning.
Science PSSA is administered only in grades 5 and 8 and covers life science, physical science, earth and space science, and the nature of science. Science items emphasize inquiry and application over memorization.
The 2025-2026 school year marks the PSSA's transition to fully online testing for the first time in its history. Previously, Pennsylvania was one of the last large states still using paper-and-pencil testing. This shift means students now encounter technology-enhanced question types, digital tools, and a different testing experience than prior years. If your child took the PSSA on paper before, the online format will feel significantly different — practicing with computer-based testing tools is essential.
Pennsylvania released its 2024-25 PSSA results in fall 2025. Math went up. Reading went down — for the fourth straight year. Of every state in our top 10 SEO review, Pennsylvania is the only one where statewide reading went DOWN year-over-year. The numbers below come straight from the Pennsylvania Department of Education's news release for the grades 3-8 combined rollup. Per-grade breakdowns live inside PDE's eMetric portal — those need a manual dashboard query (linked in PDE's portal).
| Grade / Subject | % Meeting or Exceeding | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Math (grades 3-8 combined) | 41.7% | Up 1.5 ppt YoY — second year of math gains |
| ELA / Reading (grades 3-8 combined) | 49.9% | DOWN 4.0 ppt YoY — fourth consecutive year of decline |
| Science (grades 5 & 8) | Waived | Federal ESEA waiver in 2024-25 during STEELS transition |
| Students with Disabilities — ELA | ~8% | Statewide proficiency gap |
| Students with Disabilities — Math | ~6% | Statewide proficiency gap |
Two stories run on parallel tracks: math is slowly recovering, reading is slowly slipping. The 4-percentage-point reading drop is verified by PDE and covered by Chalkbeat. Federal waiver: PDE asked USDE to skip 2024-25 Science reporting because Pennsylvania was transitioning to new STEELS science standards and moving the Science PSSA from grades 4 and 8 to grades 5 and 8. Operational STEELS-aligned Science PSSA returns Spring 2026. If your kid is in grade 4 looking for Science PSSA prep, the test has moved — they will see Science in grade 5 instead.
Dr. Carrie Rowe is Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education. She was named Acting Secretary by Governor Josh Shapiro on February 18, 2025, and Senate-confirmed bipartisan on December 9, 2025 (the Senate Education Committee advanced her nomination unanimously). Rowe has 25 years in public education, including roles as a Curriculum Director in Pennsylvania districts. She replaced Khalid Mumin, who resigned December 6, 2024. Many older sources still reference Mumin — that information is stale.
Released 2024-25 PSSA results. Statement: 'Assessments give educators information they need to understand student progress and to direct support where it is needed most.' The release highlighted math gains and the four-year ELA decline.
Senate-confirmed as Secretary of Education in a bipartisan vote. Education Committee unanimously advanced her nomination before the full vote.
Oversaw transition planning for fully-online PSSA + Keystone administration starting 2025-26 school year. The Shapiro administration projected $6.5M/year savings from cutting printing and shipping.
Pennsylvania has one of the country's most uneven school-funding systems — and that shows up in PSSA scores. In February 2023, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer) ruled in William Penn SD v. PDE that PA's school-funding system is unconstitutional. The decision was not appealed, becoming final July 21, 2023. As of late 2025, a $3.8B adequacy gap remained unaddressed. The districts below illustrate the spread.
Wealthy Philadelphia-area suburb. Routinely top-3 districts statewide for PSSA performance. ELA pass rate is 34 ppt above the state average — same test, vastly different outcomes.
Elementary tier hits ~87% ELA / ~77% Math. One of the Philadelphia metro's strongest districts. Demographics favor heavy parent involvement and access to private supplemental education.
Mixed urban district. Historical Grade 8 Math (2023) was 17.7% vs state 26.1% — Pittsburgh has been working on middle-grades math for years. Grade 3 reading is closer to state averages than upper grades.
Northwest PA's largest district. GoErie confirmed Erie schools landed below state averages across ELA, Math, and Science. Specific district-wide percentages were not surfaced in accessible coverage. A William Penn-style funding plaintiff district.
Largest district in PA. Performance roughly 17 ppt below state in ELA and 17 ppt below in Math. The William Penn ruling traces directly to districts like Philadelphia — the court found that funding inadequacy is a constitutional violation, not just a policy choice.
Headline equity spread: Lower Merion 84% ELA versus Philadelphia 33% ELA = 51 percentage points on the same test. Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court ruled this kind of gap is a constitutional problem — but the $3.8B adequacy gap that follows from that ruling is still open as of late 2025.
Pennsylvania's reading scores went DOWN 4 percentage points statewide in 2024-25 — the only state in this set where reading declined. Underneath that statewide number is a 51-percentage-point gap between Lower Merion (84% ELA) and Philadelphia (33% ELA). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court already ruled, in February 2023, that this funding inequity is unconstitutional under the Pennsylvania Constitution. The state did not appeal — the ruling is final. But the $3.8 billion gap between what schools need and what they get remains open in late 2025. For families: the funding fight is real, but it's slow. Your kid is testing this April. A child practicing 15-20 minutes a day on PSSA-aligned skills moves up performance bands inside a single school year regardless of which side of the gap they're on.
Three things are reshaping the PSSA in 2025-26 — most parents have only heard about one of them.
Starting 2025-26, ALL PSSA grades 3-8 and all three Keystone exams (Algebra I, Biology, Literature) are administered online. Paper-and-pencil remains available only as an IEP/504 accommodation. New item types include drag-and-drop, equation editor, sorting, and hot text. Tests run roughly 30 minutes shorter than the paper version. Governor Shapiro's administration projected $6.5M/year in commonwealth savings.
On February 7, 2023, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer) ruled that PA's school-funding system is unconstitutional under the Pennsylvania Constitution's education clause. The decision was NOT appealed, becoming final July 21, 2023. The court found a $5.4B underfunding gap. PA has invested approximately $1B over two years; the remaining $3.8B adequacy gap was still open as of late 2025.
Pennsylvania transitioned to new STEELS (Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability) standards. The 2002 science standards were fully replaced on June 30, 2025. The 2025 Science PSSA was administered as a census field test only — federal waiver granted. The Science PSSA shifted from grades 4 AND 8 to grades 5 AND 8. Operational STEELS-aligned Science PSSA returns Spring 2026.
PSSA went fully online in 2025-2026 — this is the first year, so students and schools are adjusting to the new digital format simultaneously.
Pennsylvania uses compact one-week testing windows per subject, unlike most states that offer 3-6 week windows. Every school in the state tests the same subject the same week.
PA Core Standards are Pennsylvania's own standards — they overlap with Common Core but include Pennsylvania-specific additions, particularly in math problem-solving and reading comprehension.
Science PSSA in grades 5 and 8 places heavy emphasis on the nature of science and inquiry — students must design experiments, analyze data, and draw evidence-based conclusions.
The PSSA includes text-dependent analysis (TDA) prompts in ELA that require students to write multi-paragraph essays citing specific evidence from passages — one of the more rigorous writing components among state tests.
This is the first year PSSA is fully online. Practice with computer-based testing at home — typing essays, using digital tools, and reading passages on screens. Students used to paper testing may find the transition challenging without practice.
Pennsylvania's testing windows are very compact: one week for ELA, one week for Math. There is little flexibility for make-ups, so attendance during testing weeks is critical.
The PSSA ELA includes a text-dependent analysis (TDA) essay. Your child must read a passage and write a multi-paragraph response with cited evidence. Practice this specific skill — it's heavily weighted and many students struggle with it.
Science is tested only in grades 5 and 8. These assessments cover all science content from the preceding years, not just the current grade. Start reviewing earlier science topics well before the testing window.
Proficient is the target level — not just 'passing.' Pennsylvania's 4-level system (Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, Advanced) means Basic is below the state's academic expectations. Aim for Proficient or Advanced.
The 2026 Spring PSSA window: ELA runs April 20-24, 2026; Math runs April 27 - May 1, 2026; Science (STEELS-aligned, grades 5 and 8) runs April 27 - May 1, 2026; Make-up testing runs May 4-8, 2026. Pennsylvania uses one-week subject windows — your child's school administers the test the same week as every other PA public school.
Online. Starting in the 2025-26 school year, all PSSA grades 3-8 and all three Keystone exams are administered online. This is the first year of full online administration in PSSA history. Paper-and-pencil remains available only as an IEP or 504 accommodation. New question types include drag-and-drop, equation editor, sorting, and hot text.
Pennsylvania uses four levels: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. 'Proficient' is the state target — it means your child has met the grade-level PA Core Standards. 'Basic' is below the state's academic expectations. The cutoffs vary by grade and subject; PDE publishes specific scaled-score cuts each year.
Yes. Statewide PSSA ELA dropped 4.0 percentage points year-over-year (53.9% → 49.9% Proficient or Advanced). This was the fourth consecutive year of decline in ELA. Math went the other direction — up 1.5 ppt for the second straight year. Pennsylvania is the only state in our top-10 review where statewide reading went DOWN year-over-year.
Pennsylvania transitioned to new STEELS science standards (replacing the 2002 standards on June 30, 2025). The 2025 Science PSSA was administered as a census field test only. PDE received a federal ESEA waiver from USDE so field-test scores would not count in state or local reporting. Operational STEELS-aligned Science PSSA returns Spring 2026 — and shifts from grades 4 and 8 to grades 5 and 8.
PSSA is administered to grades 3 through 8. Specifically: ELA and Math in all years (grades 3-8); Science in grades 5 and 8 (starting Spring 2026 under STEELS — previously grades 4 and 8). High school students take the Keystone Exams (Algebra I, Biology, Literature) separately.
PSSA is for grades 3-8 (annual accountability). Keystone Exams are end-of-course tests in Algebra I, Biology, and Literature for high schoolers — they are one of five possible pathways students can use to demonstrate graduation readiness (Pennsylvania has not required Keystone passage for graduation since the Class of 2023).
Yes, but only for religious reasons. Pennsylvania law allows parents to review the test and request religious exemption in writing. There is no general opt-out. Students opted out are coded as 'not tested' for school accountability purposes; this can affect the school's participation rate.
Each subject is administered across multiple sessions. With the new online format, tests run approximately 30 minutes shorter than the previous paper version. ELA includes a text-dependent analysis (TDA) essay that requires reading a passage and writing a multi-paragraph response with cited evidence.
PSSA results are typically released in fall. The 2024-25 results were released by PDE in fall 2025. Expect a similar timeframe for 2026 results — likely September or October 2026. Parents can access results through their district once PDE releases the official state data.
In February 2023, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that the state's school-funding system is unconstitutional. The decision became final in July 2023 without appeal. The court identified a $5.4B underfunding gap; approximately $1B has been invested over two years, leaving a $3.8B adequacy gap still open as of late 2025. The ruling does not directly change how the PSSA is administered or scored — but it does establish that PA's wide district-level PSSA gaps are a constitutional problem, not just a policy outcome.
TDA is Pennsylvania's distinctive ELA writing task. Your child reads a passage and writes a multi-paragraph essay analyzing it — citing specific evidence from the text. It's one of the more rigorous writing components among state tests. Many students lose points by writing about the topic generally instead of grounding their analysis in specific passage evidence.
The PSSA is Pennsylvania's standardized assessment for grades 3-8. Students are tested in Math and English/RLA every year, and Science in grades 5 and 8.
Our AI generates questions aligned to PA Core Standards standards at the exact difficulty and format of the real PSSA. Every question is verified by a second AI for accuracy.
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