The Pennsylvania State Board of Education met September 15 and 16 in Pittsburgh, with the Pittsburgh Public Schools as our host. During this meeting, many action items were voted on and the board viewed many presentations. The board reviewed the 2010 PSSA report, which showed that 82% of Pennsylvania schools are meeting all of their Adequate Yearly Progress targets, compared to 78% of schools last year. The report also showed that schools that have increased their per-pupil spending by more than $2,000 have experienced the greatest reduction in the number of students scoring below basic, and that the closer a district is to its funding adequacy target, the more students perform at, or above grade level. Educational leaders hope the achievement trend continues so that all students are performing at grade level in 2014, as the No Child Left Behind Act requires.
  The Board also passed Key- stone Exam eligible-content and assessment anchors for the tests. They are being used to measure AYP, and will be given in the areas of Algebra I, English Literature, and Biology. The anchors were developed by Pennsylvania educators from across the state. Now draft performance level descriptors (PLDs) are being developed with hopes for a Board approval in June of 2011. PDLs are statements that describe the knowledge and skills expected of students performing at different levels (advanced, proficient, basic, below-basic). The anchors and eligible content can be viewed online at the Department of Education website (www.education.state. pa.us) and click on State Board of Education.
  Finally, the Board passed PLDs for the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) tests, which are designed to assure that Pennsylvania students with the most significant cognitive disabilities are included in the state accountability system. The PASA are administered to students by their teachers on a one-to-one basis and the tests are recorded with detailed narrative notes and submitted for scoring. The tests are given to students in grades 3 through<br />
  8 and in grade 11.