Welcome to our district's assessment page, which houses important information regarding our students' participation in statewide assessments, such as the PSSAs and Keystones. You can navigate this page to find:

1. Access to the statewide assessment calendar for UCASD.

2. Direct links to PDE resources for students and families, including the online portal and tutorials to help students prepare for online testing, the PDE Item Samplers with sample test questions and answers, test design descriptions and blue prints, and scoring guidelines for assessments.

3. Copies of the most recent parent letter/FAQs, electronic device policy, and more from PDE.

Should you ever have any questions about local or statewide assessments, please contact our District Assessment Coordinator, Mrs. Stacey Dell or 814-438-3804 ext. 5457.

PDE provides a host of resources that are publicly accessible, including testing administration information, assessment anchors and eligible content, cut scores, and more. You can access the main assessment pages below, as well as specific testing information for each of the subjects. Check out the links below and reach out to your School Assessment Coordinator or District Assessment Coordinator for more information!

PDE Preparing Students for Online Testing Handout - A great handout that gives an overview of the transition to online testing going into Spring 2026

Online Assessment Portal - Visit this site to check out the online Item Samplers, which are the most updated sample questions with answers, or to head on over to the Insight Training tab to see practice questions, online tutorials, and more. All students have opportunities to engage with these resources in school prior to testing to ensure students are comfortable with the assessment portal, technology, and question types.

PDE: ​​​​​​​​Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)​​​​​​​​ - ELA, Mathematics, and Science (Elementary & Middle School)

PDE's PSSA Mathematics Resources (Grades 3-8) - Test design, calculator policy, item samplers, scoring guidelines, formula sheets

PDE's PSSA English/Language Arts Resources (Grades 3-8) - Test design, item samplers, Text-Dependent Analysis (TDA) scoring guidelines

PDE's PSSA Science Resources (Grades 5 & 8) - Test design, item samplers, scoring guidelines

PDE: Keystone Exams - Literature, Algebra, and Biology (High School)

Keystone Item Samplers

Keystone Scoring Guidelines

Please review the following important information for students and families, provided through the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

• PDE Parent Letter Cell Phones and Electronic Devices 2026

• PDE PSSA Spring 2026 Parent Letter FAQ

• PDE Keystone Spring 2026 Parent Letter FAQ

• PDE Calculator Policy 2026 - All students are provided with a handheld calculator during testing

• PDE Code of Conduct for Test Takers

• Exceeding 1% PASA Threshold

• UCASD PSSA and Keystone Exams Opt-Out Procedures  (Updated March 2025) & PDE Required Confidentiality Agreement

Note: All parents/guardians of eligible test-takers receive a physical copy of both the Parent Letter and the Electronic Device information for the PSSAs and/or Keystone exams.

Page was last updated on April 2, 2026.