This school year’s seniors will be the first to graduate after meeting one of five different possible pathways Pennsylvania has outlined as required.

Under Act 158 of 2018, students must meet the requirements of one of five pathways to meet state graduation requirements. The pathways began implementation in in the 2020-21 school year, when most of the coming year’s seniors were entering high school, to provide additional routes to graduation beyond just meeting testing proficient in the state’s algebra I, literature and biology Keystone Exams.

In addition to the Keystone Exam pathway, dubbed Keystone Proficiency by the state, four other options are available to meet graduation requirements: the Keystone Composite, Career and Technical Education Concentrator, Alternative Assessment and Evidence-based paths.

“Our seniors, before they graduate, have to meet one of the pathways,” WCSD Director of Curriculum Instruction & Assessment Eric Mineweaser said. “We want our students to know they have to meet this.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, requirements for each path include:

Keystone Proficiency – Students who score at least a 1500 on each of the algebra I, literature and biology Keystone Exams meet the requirement for graduation.

Keystone Composite – Students who complete all three required Keystone Exams, score as proficient or advanced on all three, have no scores of below basic on any and have a composite score of at least 4452 on the tests meet the requirement for graduation.

Career and Technical Education Concentrator – The CTE pathway offers a number of ways for students to meet graduation requirements. A student may obtain an industry-based competency certification related to their field of study. Alternately, students may seek approval to meet requirements from a chief school administrator in consultation with a vocational-technical school director or principal of a comprehensive high school in two other ways. Both paths take performance on benchmark assessments and and course grades into consideration as factors. Students may demonstrate a “high likelihood of success” on an approved industry-based competency assessment or demonstrate “readiness for continued meaningful engagement in a CTE Concentrator program of study.”

Alternative Assessment – The Alternative Assessment pathway offers six options to meet requirements to graduate. Scoring high enough on ACT, ACT WorkKeys NCRC, ASVAB, PSAT/NMSQT or Sat scores will meet the requirement. Achievement of a score of 3 or higher on an approved AP exam related to each of the otherwise required Keystone Exams will qualify a student to graduate. Achievement of a score of 3 or higher on an approved International Baccalaureate Programme related to each of the otherwise required Keystone Exams will meet graduation requirements. Earning a passing grade on an approved concurrent enrollment course for each otherwise required Keystone Exam will qualify a student to graduate. Successfully completing a pre-apprenticeship program approved by the state or U.S. Department of Labor & Industry and the school system in which the student is enrolled will meet graduation requirements. A student who has been accepted by and shows an ability to enroll in a non-profit higher education institution will also qualify to graduate.

Evidence-based – The Evidence-based pathway requires students to attain three pieces of evidence. These evidence pieces may be derived from two lists in a number of ways. At least one piece of evidence must be derived from the first list, although all three may be, and any remaining pieces of evidence may be obtained from a second list. Completion of an evidence criteria more than once may count as an additional piece of evidence. The first list consists of attainment of an established score on more than one SAT test, attainment of an established score on more than one AP exam, attainment of an established score on more than one International Baccalaureate Programme exam, successful completion of more than one concurrent enrollment or postsecondary course or attainment of more than one industry-recognized credential. Additionally, list one accepts attainment of an established score on the ACT WorkKeys NCRC or acceptance into an accredited other-than-four-year non-profit Institution of higher education with the ability to enroll in college-level coursework, but these pieces of evidence can only be completed once as pieces of evidence. List two consists of attainment of proficient or advanced scores on more than one Keystone Exam; successful completion of more than one approved service-learning project and successful completion of more than one internship, externship, or cooperative education program.

Further information on graduation pathways and requirements can be found at https://pdesas.org/Frameworks/DCEToolKit/Act158PathwaysToGraduationToolkit.