Students across Pa. are taking the PSSAs. What will the results say about the pandemic’s impact?

Students across the state are taking the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests this week — some for the first time since the pandemic upended the education system.

Participation by third through eighth graders in the standardized assessments — known as the PSSAs — is expected to be better than last year, when tests were administered while many students were still learning virtually. But unclear is whether scores will improve.

Data show that student success is accelerated by having “three good years in a row of quality instruction,” said Christopher McGinley, a professor in Temple University’s College of Education. Given the turmoil from the pandemic, “I don’t expect great performance” statewide, said McGinley, a former member of the Philadelphia school board and School Reform Commission, and former superintendent of the Lower Merion and Cheltenham school districts.

The assessments, which began last week with English language arts and continue through May with math and science, mark the second round of standardized tests administered in Pennsylvania since the beginning of the pandemic. Testing was called off in 2020 but resumed in 2021, with scores on both the PSSAs and the Keystone Exams — which are reported for 11th graders — dropping almost across the board.

Education experts said the results appeared to track national data finding students fell behind during the pandemic. However, tens of thousands fewer Pennsylvania students took the 2021 tests than in previous years. State officials said the participation rate was 71%, compared to 98% in 2018-19, and cautioned against comparisons.

» READ MORE: Scores on Pa. standardized tests fell in 2021, but many students didn’t take them

This year, participation will likely be much more typical, McGinley said. However, he said the results may still be somewhat limited in what they reflect.

Combined with benchmark assessments administered by school districts, the PSSAs can help school leaders pinpoint where students need help, McGinley said. But given the staffing challenges that many schools have experienced during the pandemic — urban districts in particular — poor scores may not indicate a problem with curriculum or instructional practices, but a lack of continuity, he said.

And while the tests were traditionally intended to measure the quality of a school, McGinley said, he doesn’t anticipate this year’s results will reflect that.

“I don’t think there’s been enough time for everyone to have caught up, or made up for the lost instructional time,” McGinley said, predicting another year of “not wonderful data.”