Act 158 Graduation Pathways
Background
Act 158 of 2018 (Act 158), which was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf on October 24, 2018, shifts Pennsylvania’s reliance on high stakes testing as a graduation requirement to provide alternatives for high school students to demonstrate readiness for postsecondary success. Formerly, Pennsylvania’s statewide graduation requirement was more restrictive, requiring most students to pass the Keystone Exams — end of course exams in Algebra I, Literature, and Biology — in order to graduate. Act 158, in conjunction with Act 6 of 2017 (Act 6), expands the options for students to demonstrate postsecondary readiness through four additional pathways that more fully illustrate college, career, and community readiness.