This course will familiarize teachers with the mathematics standards, assessment anchors and eligible content for grades 8 and 11. It will also provide those teachers with specific problems for each of the five reporting categories. This course will consist of two days of instructor lead class for a total of 15 hours of face to face instruction.

The first session will begin with a Pre-test on the teacher’s knowledge about the PA standards, assessment anchors, eligible content and reporting categories. The second session will end with a Post-test to determine whether each participant has gained knowledge into the pre-tested topics. Throughout each session many example problems for each reporting category at the third, fourth and fifth grade levels will be discussed.

The participants will have the opportunity to solve problems and to inquire about strategies to teach those concepts. Between the first and second sessions each participant will be required to construct a PSSA lesson emphasizing an assessment anchor of their choosing. They will be required to demonstrate the lesson to the others in the class during the second session. After completion of the second session each participant must create and email to the instructor two PSSA lesson plans that they plan to use in their classrooms this year.