Act 158 Update

Two significant changes to the statewide high school graduation requirements are noteworthy:

1. Two Score Keystone Composite

Act 55 of 2022 amends the Pennsylvania School Code to further assist students in meeting statewide high school graduation requirements. Effective immediately, any student may graduate via the Keystone Composite Pathway provided the student:

• Earned a non-numeric Proficient in a Keystone Exam pursuant to Act 136 of 2020;
• Successfully completes locally established, grade-based requirements for academic content associated with each Keystone Exam in which the student does not have a numeric or non-numeric score of Proficient/Advanced; and
• Achieves a Keystone Composite score of 2939 or greater for two of the three Keystone Exams (calculated using the highest numerical scores attained by the student, neither of which may be Below Basic and at least one of which must be Proficient or better).

2. Extension of the Pandemic as an Extenuating Circumstance

On September 9, 2021, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education approved the addition of the COVID-19 pandemic to the list of extenuating circumstances for which pathway-specific graduation requirements may be waived by a chief school administrator for students in the graduating classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Each student granted a waiver must complete locally established, grade-based requirements for academic content associated with each Keystone Exam in which the student does not have a numeric or non-numeric Proficient/Advanced.

If waivers exceed more than 5% of the graduating class, the school entity may be required to submit an improvement plan or be subject to an audit.

Refer to the SAS Graduation Toolkit for additional information on non-numeric scores, locally established grade-based requirements, waivers, and other related topics. Questions may be submitted to ra-edgradrequirement@pa.gov.

NOTE: The Tracking Tool,  SAS Toolkit, and PDE website are in the process of revision but will not reflect these changes immediately. Please check back for updates and emerging details on PDE Open Office Hours and training opportunities available late summer/early fall.