Keystone

On November 25, 2020 Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 1216, now known as Act 136, which impacts Keystone Exams for students who were in Keystone Trigger Courses in the 2019-20 school year (English 9, Algebra I and Biology) and the Pathways to Graduation.

The first important change is that graduation requirements (Act 158) have been pushed back to students in the graduating class of 2022-23. For a detailed explanation of the “Pathways to Graduation” please watch video above.

The second important change is pertaining to the Keystone Exam Requirements. The change states the following:

“For the 2019-20 school year... any student who completed a course in an academic content area associated with a Keystone Exam shall not be required to take the Keystone Exam related to that course and shall be deemed proficient... provided that the student demonstrates successful completion of locally established grade-based requirements for the academic content areas associated with each Keystone Exam."

What does this mean? If a student took English 8, Algebra I or Biology during the 2019-2020 school year only, AND successfully passed the course (earned 65% or greater), then the student would be deemed "proficient" and would not be required to take the Keystone Exam.

Important Information to Know
There are some circumstances where students may still choose to take the Keystone Exam, even if they are deemed proficient. If you are deemed proficient, you will NOT receive a numerical score for the exam and therefore, cannot utilize the “composite” score pathway for graduation. (Important for current 10th graders and below). A composite score (Pathway 2 of the Pathway to Graduation) cannot be obtained with 2 or fewer exams.

Please carefully review the video for more details regarding the Keystone Exams, specifically circumstances when you may choose/need to take a Keystone Exam.

As a reminder, we recognize that students may need to refresh their content knowledge in these areas. Tutorials have been set up for students to self-navigate through at their own pace. To access these tutorials, please follow these steps:

  • Go to Khanacademy.org/join
  • Enter the following class codes:
    • Algebra 1: 43XMDRXU
    • Biology: JPHH3EHK
  • Click “Add”
  • If you do not already have an account, press “Create a new account.” Enter your date of birth, then sign up using Google, your school email, or by creating a username.
  • Enter your Grade and course.