Firefly Benchmark Pilot Opportunity

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is soliciting district volunteers to participate in the Firefly Pilot for the 2024-2025 school year.

The Firefly benchmark will be available for ELA grades 3-8, Mathematics grades 3-8, Keystone Algebra I, and Keystone Literature during the pilot in 2024-2025.  The pilot window will run from mid-November through mid-March.  The benchmark will be administered online, and we anticipate each assessment will take about 45 minutes for students to complete. 

For the pilot year, ELA grades 3-8 will assess and report only reading; writing will be added in 2025-2026.  For mathematics, information will be reported for each of the five grade level assessment anchors.   PSSA Science for grades 5 and 8 and Keystone Biology will be added during the 2025-2026 school year.  Also, during the 2025-2026 school year, the Firefly will be available from August/September until a few weeks before the beginning of the PSSA and Keystone administration windows.

PDE is developing suggested assessment schedules which could include the Classroom Diagnostic Test (CDT) and the Firefly Benchmark.  The CDT is a true diagnostic assessment; the Firefly benchmark is designed to be an interim assessment and will provide a prediction as to how students will perform on the PSSA or Keystone assessment.  The CDT and Firefly assessments are free to Pennsylvania schools.

If your district or school is interested in participating in the Firefly Benchmark Pilot, please complete the PDE Firefly Benchmark Pilot Interest form.

Please direct questions to Dr. Megan Clementi at mclementi@pa.gov.