Local superintendents expressed mixed feelings about state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale's recommendation to replace the state's Keystone Exams with either the SAT or ACT tests typically used for college admission purposes.

DePasquale issued a report July 10 stating taxpayers will spend nearly $100 million on the Keystone Exams between 2015 and 2021. The amount represents the term of the contract between the state's Department of Education and Minnesota-based Data Recognition Corporation, which administers and scores the tests.

While federal law requires all states to administer a secondary-level standardized test, DePasquale's report argues the state-specific Keystone Exams have not been required since 2015 when the No Child Left Behind Act was replaced.

According to DePasquale, districts could replace the state exams with the SAT or ACT at a lower cost than the Keystones. He pointed to research showing that taking the SAT or ACT improves the rate at which students attend post-secondary education,

“Not only would this change benefit families who now have to pay out of pocket for their children to take these nationally recognized tests, it could help students who are not on a college track discover that they could succeed in college and possibly change the course of their future,” DePasquale said in a news release.

Brian White, the Butler Area School District superintendent, agreed with the report's findings regarding standardized testing on the secondary level.

“I like it in some respects because the (SAT and ACT) tests themselves are more relevant to students, assuming colleges and universities continue to use them for admission purposes,” White said.

He said the ACT also has the added benefit of a career-planning element.

“I have to think it would be cheaper than what we're doing right now,” White said.

He said the Keystone Exams take 1.5 to two hours to complete per subject.

“If you have three 90-minute tests, you've disrupted three school days because it impacts the bell schedule for everyone else,” White said. “The magnitude is much larger than the student just taking the test.”

David Foley, superintendent at the South Butler County School District, said he hesitates to switch up the standardized testing again.

“It's difficult for students to give their best effort and staff members to understand what we are shooting for,” Foley said.

He said the Keystones illustrate what students are learning in specific classes in real time.

The SAT tests a variety of skills at once, he said.

“Sometimes, a specific exam makes more sense to me,” Foley said.

With the Keystone results, he said the district can look at how students could perform better on the SATs.

“The way the scores are reported, it puts so much emphasis on making sure we are meeting the state standards,” Foley said of the Keystones.

He said students first take a Keystone Exam when they take Algebra I, which can be in grades seven or eight.

Foley is not sure what would happen regarding standardized testing for younger secondary students if the SATs or ACTs were used.

Matthew Stem, PDE's deputy secretary for elementary and secondary education, issued a response Monday to DePasquale's recommendation to use the SATs in place of the Keystone Exams.

“The auditor general's document ignores significant reforms Pennsylvania made to standardized testing in recent years,” Stem said in a news release. “In addition to shortening the PSSA (standardized tests for grades four through eight) and administering it later in the school year to better serve students, the Wolf Administration has reduced costs associated with standardized testing by 30 percent, including the cost of the Keystone Exams.”

Stem said any change in the state's assessment system must be approved by the federal Department of Education because testing is required in English language arts, math and science.

He said the PDE has always been receptive to considering secondary exams other than the Keystones “provided the process is educationally sound, fiscally responsible, compliant with federal law and allows Pennsylvania educators to continue to apply their professional judgment.”

Stem added that no state currently has fully met the federal requirements to use ACT or SAT for federal testing purposes.

“The Keystone Exams are the only assessment aligned to Pennsylvania's state-level standards and fully federally approved to use in the commonwealth,” Stem said.