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Philadelphia students struggle to meet the new Pennsylvania graduation requirements

Nearly 4,000 high school seniors still have to meet the new guidelines.

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Philadelphia officials stated before the City Hall last Friday that 52% of seniors — 4,223 out of 8,120 students — had met the new state requirements for graduation. 

The remaining 3,897 students are characterized by the district as still “in progress” to meet the new requirements that go into effect for this school year. 

The city officials estimated that only 28% of seniors scored proficient or advanced on all the three end-of-course state Keystone exams (Algebra I, Literature, and Biology). Another 290 students, 4%, are on track to graduate because they passed one state test and had a high enough composite score in all three, according to Chalkbeat Philadelphia. The rest of students have used alternate pathways created by Act 158. 

Signed in 2018 by Gov. Tom Wolf, the Act 158 provides alternatives to Pennsylvania's statewide requirement of attaining proficiency on the Keystone tests for a student to achieve the graduation requirements. According to the Department of Education, students have the option to demonstrate postsecondary preparedness through one of four additional pathways that more fully illustrate college, career, and community readiness. 

Even though students no longer need to achieve proficiency on the Keystone Exams, they still must take them for purposes of federal accountability.

As stated by Chalkbeat Philadelphia, instead on relying solely on proficiency and composite scores on state exams, students can earn diplomas by: 

  • attaining an industry-based certification in a career and technical education (CTE) program;
  • scoring high enough on tests like the Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams; 
  • following an “evidence-based” pathway approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which can include work or internships outside of school and acceptance into a four-year college;

The district reported that 94 students so far have met requirements by getting a CTE certification, 452 through an alternate assessment, and 208 through an “evidence-based” project.

A report from the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium on the implications of the 2018 changes to graduation pathways also found that in 2018 and 2019, only about a third of students scored high enough on all the Keystones tests to graduate based on those results under Act 158.  

According to the consortium in its October report, race/ethnicity, financial status and other historical factors affect inequities in standardized tests. The Principal Brianna Dunn-Robb of Constitution High School said efforts are being made to address the problem of students who aren’t on track to earn a diploma yet. Through collaborations, organization and data collection, the district is focused on meeting the students' needs. 

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