While there has been great progress made with the implementation of the Pennsylvania Common Core in the Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has also received feedback from educators who have communicated the challenges and demands in developing and implementing the curriculum as well as concerns about providing instruction that supports the rigor of the revised assessments.

Another area of concern expressed is the implementation of the new teacher evaluation system and the start of the collection of data for the PVAAS three-year average for teacher ratings.  

As a result, implementation of the Pennsylvania Common Core-aligned PSSAs for grades 3-5 has been delayed for one year.

Below is the revised roll-out plan for the Pennsylvania Common Core-aligned PSSAs:

• Embedded field-test items will be included for grades 3-5 in 2013 and 2014, and grades 6-8 in 2014, which will add an additional year for field testing to permit greater curricular alignment to the Pennsylvania Common Core standards.

• Operational English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments will be administered to grades 3-8 in 2015.

While the revised operational PSSA for grades 3-5 has been delayed for one year, LEAs should continue with the Pennsylvania Common Core implementation. PDE will continue to provide detailed resources to guide LEAs in this process. Grade-by-grade alignment documents in both English Language Arts and Mathematics will detail the similarities and differences in the Eligible Content for the current PSSAs and the revised Pennsylvania Common Core-aligned PSSAs. Direction on content that will prepare students for the current PSSAs, yet focus on Pennsylvania Common Core will be included. Future notice will announce a SAS posting of this resource.