Please find important information below regarding the Keystone Exams for May 2025 at Mars Area High School. The dates for the Keystone Exam this spring are May 12 – May 19, 2025. All 9th graders and any other student currently enrolled in English 9, Advanced English 9, Principles of Biology, Biology, or Algebra 1 will need to test in person according to the schedule below.  The school counselor will notify any other student needing to retake the exams.

Test Format:

• All Keystone Exams will be administered online. Students will complete both the multiple-choice and the free-response sections using the DRC application.

Student Responsibilities:

• All students must bring a fully charged device and their charger for each exam.
• The DRC application must be installed on their device before the exam. This will be checked in your tested courses before the exam.
• A limited number of loaner devices will be available in case of emergency.

Testing Logistics:

• Once the proctor begins the exam, the student will follow the prompts from the DRC application. There are tools available to the students built within the application, including a calculator.
• Approved testing accommodations will be administered directly through the DRC platform.
• The Keystones are not a timed test; students will have from 7:45-9:35 to complete the test each day and then can be moved for extended time past that window if needed.

Bell Schedule:

• Mars Area High School will be implementing a 2-hour delay bell schedule during the Spring Keystone Exams for the 2025 school year.
• Under this schedule, buses will operate at their regular times.
  
  
  • Students taking a Keystone or a morning AP exam will be required to report to school at the normal start time.
  • Students not involved in testing on these dates will follow a 2-hour delay bell schedule, arriving at school between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. via personal transportation (student drivers or parent drop-off).
  • For students unable to arrange late transportation, district-provided buses will be available at the regular time. These students will be accommodated in a supervised study hall until the second homeroom begins at 9:30 a.m.

Special Program Considerations:

• Students enrolled in JROTC at Pine-Richland will miss JROTC if scheduled for the Keystone Exams if they are taking one of the Keystone Exams. These absences will be considered excused absences by JROTC.
• Vo-Tech students will leave for Vo-Tech after 5th period. All Vo-Tech students need to eat lunch period 5. Vo-Tech students may miss periods 5 or 6 at Mars Area High School.
  
  

Bell Schedule Mars Area High School
May 12-19