Act 158 of 2018 and Act 6 of 2017 provide alternatives to Pennsylvania’s statewide requirement of attaining proficiency on the three end-of-course Keystone Exams (Algebra I, Literature, and Biology). Effective with the graduating class of 2023, students have the option to demonstrate postsecondary preparedness through one of four additional pathways that more fully illustrate college, career, and community readiness.

This toolkit and its related resources provide guidance on the five pathways to graduation as well as opportunities to meet statewide graduation requirements for students who may be experiencing extenuating circumstances or participating in a special education program that does not otherwise meet the requirements of Act 158.

Questions related to Act 158 may be directed to ra-edgradrequirement@pa.gov.

NOTE: Effective July 1, 2022, there are two significant changes to the statewide high school graduation requirements:

• A Keystone Composite comprised of two numeric scores
• An extension of the pandemic as an extenuating circumstance

For additional detail, reference the New and Noteworthy section available below.