Should Pennsylvania replace its Keystone Exam with the SATs?
Should Pennsylvania replace its Keystone Exam for high school seniors with the SAT or ACT?
That’s what state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale recently proposed, arguing that moving to the SATs would save taxpayers money and better prepare students for college.
But the case for swapping out the Keystones, which were originally designed to be a graduation requirement for Pennsylvania students, is not so clear cut, said Adam Kirk Edgerton, a Penn GSE Education Policy doctoral student.
“That would get rid of science testing, and I think it would reduce the emphasis on science in high school,” Edgerton recently told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “If you’re not testing something anymore, you’re not measuring it, and you’re not valuing it.”
During his time at Penn GSE, Edgerton has focused on education policy and assessment policies as a research assistant for the Center for Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning.
This spring, he was honored with a prestigious National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship for investigating possible connections between the teacher labor market, local political alignment, and school performance. His dissertation research constructs a unique database of teacher contracts across Pennsylvania.