Act 158 Graduation Requirements

Act 158 Graduation Requirements
Posted on 06/04/2023
Act 158 Graduation Requirements

Statewide Graduation Requirement Act 158 of 2018 (Act 158)

Act 158 of 2018, signed into law on October 24, 2018, provides alternatives to Pennsylvania's statewide requirement of attaining proficiency on the three end-of-course Keystone Exams (Algebra I, Literature, and Biology) for a student to achieve statewide graduation requirements.  Effective with the graduating class of 2023, in addition to the Keystone Proficiency Pathway, there are four other pathways in which a student can achieve the graduation requirement if they are not found to be proficient or advanced on all three Keystone Exams.  Keystone Exams will continue as the statewide assessment Pennsylvania uses to comply with accountability requirements set forth in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Although students will no longer be required to achieve proficiency on the Keystone Exams to meet the statewide graduation requirement, students must take the Keystone Exams for purposes of federal accountability. Failure to do so will affect a Local Education Agency (LEA) and school's participation rate.  https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Assessment%20and%20Accountability/GraduationRequirements/Act158/Pages/default.aspx

For students graduating in 2023 and beyond, five pathways exist for meeting state high school graduation requirements - Pathways to Graduation Graphic:

Keystone Proficiency
Keystone Composite
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Concentrator
Alternative Assessment
Evidence-Based

Here are additional resources from the Pennsylvania Department of Education:
Act 158: Pathways to Graduation Toolkit