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On this page we will record all the questions we have about the Keystone Exam options of either counting them as 1/3rd of a course grade or as a stand-alone graduation requirement.

Simply please list your questions here. If the question relates to a specific option, note that therein. Also, if you have a question and it's already here, simply place a capital 'X' at the end of the question.

Remember, these questions will form the details of what may be in a board policy - the parameters around the Keystone Exam issue.

Thanks.

Questions:
 * ** 1/3 of Grade ** |||| ** Stand Alone ** ||
 * ** Pro ** || ** Con ** || ** Pro ** || ** Con ** ||
 * Low keystone could be off set by high course grade || State controls grade || Keeps state out of grades || More won’t pass ||
 * Student ownership || College admission concern || Keystone determines AYP || Proficient is “good enough” ||
 * Curriculum accountability || Keystone score determines AYP || Open up additional course for students || Potential teacher evaluation tool ||
 * Less “high stacks” || Curriculum accountability ||  || Very “high stakes” ||
 * || Accuracy of grade ||  || Scheduling/re-scheduling courses ||
 * || Course to keystone correlation ||  || Rest of school year ||
 * || Grading of non-keystone courses ||  ||   ||

1.If the Keystone is given as a stand alone test, what happens if a kid fails the course, but passes the keystone...does he then get the credit for the course? What about the other way around, if a kid fails the keystone but passes the course...does he have to repeat the course? 2. If we go the 33% route, can we raise other finals to count as 20% of the final grade? That's what they were years ago. In the case of the math keystones, some kids will take them in middle school, while some will take them in high school. Assuming that the keystone grade will in most cases lower the kid's course grade, some kids will have it impact their HS GPA and others won't. Having all finals have a bigger impact will level the playing field. 3. With the 33% choice, what is considered passing? After the Keystone is factored in, what percentage does a kid need to earn his Alg1 graduation requirement? It can't be a 60, because a 60 is in the basic category. Would they need a 70% average? 4. With math, they only need to pass 2 of the 3 courses. Can a kid who has passed Alg1 and Geom opt out of taking the Alg2? If it's a standalone, that doesn't matter. But if it's a 33% that's a big deal. 5. If the “Stand Alone” is adopted, would the District be amenable to requiring a student to still pass the course to get credit and move on? 6 Will final exams still be required for Keystone courses? 7. Might a 1-semester Keystone remediation course (to be run fall and spring, as needed) be scheduled for students who have not achieved Proficient so as to prepare him/her for the re-test in January (and/or June)? 8. Will a student be able to “test out” of a course by scoring Proficient/Advanced on the course’s Keystone? 9. Can the Keystone score still be used in the final grade calculation even if the exam does not count as 1/3 of the course grade?