Blackhawk SD hears plan to implement Pennsylvania's STEEL science standards
April 10, 2026 | Blackhawk SD, School Districts, Pennsylvania
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A district science presenter described the Blackhawk School District's plan to implement Pennsylvania's 2022 STEEL science standards, saying the changes move instruction from memorizing facts to deeper inquiry and cross-cutting concepts.
"The new STEEL standards really shift the focus from memorizing facts involving science and really going into in-depth inquiry, exploration," said the presenter (Speaker 6). They described STEEL as standing for science, technology and engineering, environmental literacy and sustainability, and said districts must transition to the new standards by 2025-26.
Why it matters: the presenter said the new standards are also changing the state's tests. Fifth- and eighth-grade science and ninth-grade biology Keystone assessments are being aligned to STEEL, and the district is preparing by adopting updated curriculum and by using a benchmark assessment called Firefly to identify students who need remediation ahead of the May Keystone window.
District staff said they began using new materials last school year and will re-administer the Firefly benchmark in the coming days to gather progress data. The presenter warned that released Biology Keystone items were not available until March this year, which limited lead time for classroom preparation. "We did not see any of those until March," the presenter said, adding that late release of items makes planning more difficult.
Board members asked how teachers will help students approach unfamiliar, higher-level questions. The presenter emphasized instruction in scientific practices and test strategies: "We have to be able to teach them how to take a test like this, how to get more or replace the big words that they maybe don't know... that will help them to be able to decipher the hard stuff that's gonna turn them off." (Speaker 6)
The presenter also highlighted cross-cutting concepts such as patterns, cause and effect, and scale, and described district collaboration among teachers to align instruction.
Next steps: the district will continue curriculum alignment, re-administer the Firefly benchmark, and use the results to guide remediation before the Keystone testing cycle.
The presentation concluded with board thanks for the overview and invitations for further questions as the district refines classroom and testing preparations.
"The new STEEL standards really shift the focus from memorizing facts involving science and really going into in-depth inquiry, exploration," said the presenter (Speaker 6). They described STEEL as standing for science, technology and engineering, environmental literacy and sustainability, and said districts must transition to the new standards by 2025-26.
Why it matters: the presenter said the new standards are also changing the state's tests. Fifth- and eighth-grade science and ninth-grade biology Keystone assessments are being aligned to STEEL, and the district is preparing by adopting updated curriculum and by using a benchmark assessment called Firefly to identify students who need remediation ahead of the May Keystone window.
District staff said they began using new materials last school year and will re-administer the Firefly benchmark in the coming days to gather progress data. The presenter warned that released Biology Keystone items were not available until March this year, which limited lead time for classroom preparation. "We did not see any of those until March," the presenter said, adding that late release of items makes planning more difficult.
Board members asked how teachers will help students approach unfamiliar, higher-level questions. The presenter emphasized instruction in scientific practices and test strategies: "We have to be able to teach them how to take a test like this, how to get more or replace the big words that they maybe don't know... that will help them to be able to decipher the hard stuff that's gonna turn them off." (Speaker 6)
The presenter also highlighted cross-cutting concepts such as patterns, cause and effect, and scale, and described district collaboration among teachers to align instruction.
Next steps: the district will continue curriculum alignment, re-administer the Firefly benchmark, and use the results to guide remediation before the Keystone testing cycle.
The presentation concluded with board thanks for the overview and invitations for further questions as the district refines classroom and testing preparations.
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