Keystones

Pathways to Graduation

This website is to help all families understand the ways for their student(s) to successfully navigate the graduation requirements set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. If you are unclear about the information on this site or have specific questions regarding your student's Keystone Exams, then please contact your student's School Counselor.

Act 158 of 2018 (Act 158) provides alternatives to Pennsylvania’s statewide requirement of attaining proficiency on the three end-of-course Keystone Exams (Algebra I, Literature, and Biology) in order for a student to achieve statewide graduation requirements. If a student does not achieve Proficient or Advanced on each of the end of course Keystone Exams, then 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.

For students graduating in 2023 and beyond, five pathways exist for meeting state high school graduation requirements:

  • Pathway 1: Keystone Proficiency-Students achieving a minimum scaled score of 1500 or better in each of the three Keystone Exams meet the Keystone Proficiency statewide requirements for high school graduation.

  • Pathway 2: Keystone Composite

  • Pathway 3: Career and Technical Education (CTE) Concentrator

  • Pathway 4: Alternative Assessment

  • Pathway 5: Evidence-Based

Each of the 4 pathways and their options are detailed in the links below. Please click on each to learn more about each pathway. If you have any questions, please contact your student's School Counselor.

If you would like to explore the PDE's website for Keystone Pathways to Graduation, please click here.