Oct. 17, 2018
HARRISBURG — Rep. Cris Dush (R-Jefferson/Indiana) is urging final action on legislation, advanced by the PA House last week, that would remove the heavy focus on standardized testing as a requirement to graduate high school and instead allow students various options to show proficiency in pursuing their own career paths (Senate Bill 1095).
“Student achievement should never be measured by passing a mandated standardized test,” said Dush. “Our future leaders deserve a variety of options to demonstrate job, career and post-secondary readiness that are more relevant to their individual pathways beyond high school. By allowing our students more options for statewide graduation, this bill would also offer our teachers more flexibility and accountability measures to continue their valuable work of improving and increasing academic excellence.”
Senate Bill 1095 would give Pennsylvania students additional options to fulfill high school graduation requirements beyond the Keystone Exams. Students who do not score proficient on the Keystone Exams would be able to demonstrate their readiness to graduate through alternative routes.
Specifically, the bill outlines several commonsense options for assessing student performance while also giving teachers more flexibility with classroom instruction time. Some alternatives include a student’s successful completion of work-based learning programs, a service learning project, or an offer of full-time employment as evidence of post-secondary readiness.
As part of the bill, the Keystone Exam graduation requirement would be placed on hold until the 2021-22 school year. The alternate graduation options in Senate Bill 1095 would take effect when that delay expires.
This legislation, which is now before the governor, seeks to enhance a multi-bill package to expand career and technical education to benefit both students and employers looking to fill jobs in high-demand fields.
Representative Cris Dush
66th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Ty McCauslin
717.772.9979
RepDush.com /
Facebook.com/RepDush