Tutoring in Pennsylvania
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Pennsylvania, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Pennsylvania gives the PSSA in English language arts and math to every student in grades 3 through 8, and the science PSSA in grades 5 and 8. In 2027 English comes first, in the last week of April, with math and science in the first week of May. After eighth grade there is no test by grade. The Keystone Exams in Algebra I, Literature and Biology are taken when a student finishes each course, either in a January window or in the second half of May. So an eighth grader enrolled in Algebra I sits the Algebra I Keystone that spring, and the score stays on the record for high school.
What Pennsylvania tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | PSSA | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | PSSA Science | Not tested | Not tested | PSSA Science | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- PSSA Science (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment in Science): science, grades 5 and 8
- Main testing window
- late April to mid-May, with Keystone Exams in the second half of May
- Standards
- Pennsylvania Core Standards
- Exams tied to a course
- Algebra I, Literature and Biology (Keystone Exams)
Keystone scores count toward the Act 158 graduation pathways whenever they are earned, middle school included. A student who misses proficient can retake the exam in a later window or use one of the other pathways, each of which has its own requirements.
Is there a graduation test in Pennsylvania?
Not a single test. Under Act 158 a student meets the state requirement through one of five pathways, and the most direct is scoring proficient on the Algebra I, Literature and Biology Keystone Exams or reaching a set composite score across the three.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for PSSA. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.