Act 158

In 2018, Act 158 set up five different pathways for students to meet the statewide graduation requirements, instead of solely relying on state testing to meet graduation requirements. These pathways are designed to help students show they are ready for life after high school, whether that means going to college, starting a career, or contributing to their community.

Special Considerations and Updates

Due to the pandemic, the implementation of these requirements was delayed by a year, starting with the graduating class of 2023. All students enrolled in Pennsylvania public schools who are 21 years of age or younger must meet these requirements to graduate. There are special considerations for students in unique situations, but all students must fulfill the graduation requirements.

Learn More

This guide will provide detailed information on each of the five pathways and other diploma options available. For more information and resources, please visit Pennsylvania Department of Education's website.

Five Pathways to Graduation:

• Keystone Proficiency Pathway: Focuses on student Keystone exam performance on Algebra I, Biology, and Literature.

• Keystone Composite Pathway: Combines scores from the Keystone exams in the same subjects.

• Career & Technical Education (CTE) Concentrator Pathway: For students focusing on career and technical education, demonstrating their readiness through hands-on experience and skills.

• Alternative Assessment Pathway: Uses other standardized tests or equivalent academic achievements to show readiness.

• Evidence-Based Pathway: Considers various student accomplishments and experiences beyond test scores.

For further details about each pathway, please click here.

The bulk of our high school students will have finished their Keystone exams by the end of their sophomore year. By the end of junior year, students are expected to have completed their chosen pathway if they did not already meet the state requirements through passing the required Keystone exams. 

For support in deciding which pathway might work best for your child(ren), please click here. If you have further questions, please contact your child(ren)’s guidance counselor. 

The bulk of our high school students will have finished their Keystone exams by the end of their sophomore year. At the start of their junior year, their counselors in conjunction with administrators will review student exam results to determine which students may benefit from retesting or who may want to pursue an alternative pathway for graduation. After that review, counselors will reach out to families of those students who will benefit from alternative pathways to discuss their options, and families and students will be asked to select a pathway to pursue.

For support in deciding which pathway might work best for your child(ren), please click here. If you have further questions, please contact your child(ren)’s guidance counselor. 

Most recently, our Class of 2024 met the following pathways:

Lori Felgoise, Vice Principal
lfelgoise@cheltenham.org 

Guidance Counselors:

Keila Vargas - kvargas@cheltenham.org
Grade 9 - A-B
Grade 10 - A-Cla
Grade 11 - A-Cl
Grade 12 - A-Ch

Michael DiPiero - mdipiero@cheltenham.org 
Grade 9 - C-Ha
Grade 10 - Clb-For
Grade 11 - Clc-Forc
Grade 12 - Ci-Ha

Ambrosia Martin - amartin@cheltenham.org 
Grade 9 - Hb-Lo
Grade 10 - Fos-Je
Grade 11 - Ford-Job
Grade 12 - Hb-Kell

Dr. Anh Tran-Doerr - atrandoerr@cheltenham.org 
Grade 9 - Lp-Rau
Grade 10 - Jf-Mi
Grade 11 - Joc-Mok
Grade 12 - Kelm-Na

Spentley Toran - storan@cheltenham.org
Grade 9 - Rav-Th
Grade 10 - Mj-Scot