Pennsylvania Code › Title 22 - EDUCATION › Part I - State Board of Education › Subpart A - Miscellaneous Provisions › Chapter 4 - ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENT › CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION › Section 4.24 - High school graduation requirements

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Approval.
High school
					 graduation requirements and revisions to them shall be approved by a school
					 entity's governing board no later than the beginning of the 2020-2021 school
					 year, and a copy of the requirements shall be published and distributed to
					 students, parents and guardians. Copies of the requirements also shall be
					 available in each school building or on each school entity's publicly
					 accessible web site. Changes to high school graduation requirements shall be
					 published and distributed to students, parents and guardians and made available
					 in each school building or on each school entity's publicly accessible web site
					 immediately following approval by the governing board.
(b)
Requirements through the
					 2021-2022 school year.
Each school district, charter school (including
					 a cyber charter school) and ACTS, if applicable, shall specify requirements for
					 graduation. Requirements through the 2021-2022 school year must include course
					 completion and grades, completion of a culminating project, results of local
					 assessments aligned with the academic standards and a demonstration of
					 proficiency in English Language Arts and Mathematics on either the State
					 assessments administered in grade 11 or 12 or local assessments aligned with
					 academic standards and State assessments under §
											4.52 (relating to local assessment
					 system) at the proficient level or better to graduate. The purpose of the
					 culminating project is to assure that students are able to apply, analyze,
					 synthesize and evaluate information and communicate significant knowledge and
					 understanding.
(c)
Requirements beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.
(1)
General.
Beginning in
					 the 2022-2023 school year, each school district, charter school (including a
					 cyber charter school) and ACTS, if applicable, shall adopt and implement
					 requirements for high school graduation that, at minimum, include:
(i) Course completion and grades.
(ii) Demonstration of proficiency as
					 determined by the school district, charter school (including a cyber charter
					 school) or ACTS, if applicable, in each of the State academic standards not
					 assessed by a State assessment under §
													4.51, §
													4.51a or §
													4.51b (relating to State
					 assessment system; Pennsylvania System of School Assessment; and Keystone
					 Exams).
(iii) Demonstration of
					 proficiency or above in each of the following State academic standards: English
					 Language Arts and Mathematics (Appendix A-2); through June 30, 2025, Science
					 and Technology and Environment and Ecology (Appendix B), and, beginning July 1,
					 2025, Science, Environment and Ecology (Appendix B-1), as determined through
					 any one or a combination of the following:
(A)
					 Completion of secondary level coursework in English Language Arts (Literature),
					 Algebra I and Biology in which a student demonstrates proficiency on the
					 associated Keystone Exam or through a pathway established in section 121(c) or
					 (c.1) of the School Code (24 P.S. §§
															1-121(c) or (c.1)).
(I) A school district, ACTS or charter
					 school, including a cyber charter school, shall allow a student to take a
					 Keystone Exam prior to taking the course associated with the exam's content
					 provided that the student achieved a score of advanced on the most recent
					 associated PSSA assessment administered to the student.
(II) A school district, ACTS or charter
					 school, including a cyber charter school, shall allow a student who transfers
					 from another state to take a Keystone Exam prior to taking the course
					 associated with the exam's content, provided that the student achieved a score
					 comparable to the PSSA's advanced performance level on a comparable assessment
					 administered by another state.
(III) A school district, ACTS or charter
					 school, including a cyber charter school, may allow a student who scores at the
					 advanced level on a particular Keystone Exam prior to taking the course to be
					 granted course credit for the course without having to complete the
					 course.
(B) Locally
					 approved and administered assessments, which shall be independently and
					 objectively validated once every 6 years. Local assessments may be designed to
					 include a variety of assessment strategies listed in §
														4.52(c) and may
					 include the use of one or more Keystone Exams. Except for replacement of
					 individual test items that have a similar level of difficulty, a new validation
					 is required for any material changes to the assessment. Validated local
					 assessments must meet the following standards:
(I) Alignment with the following State
					 academic standards: English Language Arts (Literature and Composition);
					 Mathematics (Algebra I), and Science and Environment and Ecology
					 (Biology).
(II) Performance level
					 expectations and descriptors that describe the level of performance required to
					 achieve proficiency comparable to that used for the Keystone Exams.
(III) Administration of the local assessment
					 to all students, as a requirement for graduation, except for those exempted by
					 their individualized education program under subsection (d), regarding special
					 education students, or gifted individualized education plan as provided in §
					 16.32 (relating to GIEP).
(IV)
					 Subject to appropriations provided by law, the cost to validate local
					 assessments shall be evenly divided between the school district, ACTS or
					 charter school, including a cyber charter school, and the Department. If the
					 Department does not provide sufficient funding to meet its share, local
					 assessments submitted for validation shall be deemed valid until a new
					 validation is due to the Department.
(V) The Department will establish a list of
					 entities approved to perform independent validations of local assessments in
					 consultation with the Local Assessment Validation Advisory Committee as
					 provided in § 4.52(f).
(VI) School
					 boards shall only approve assessments that have been determined to meet the
					 requirements of this subsection by an approved entity performing the
					 independent validation. If a school district, ACTS or charter school, including
					 a cyber charter school, uses a local assessment that has not been independently
					 validated, the Secretary will direct the school entity to discontinue its use
					 until the local assessment is approved through independent validation by an
					 approved entity.