Bill would remove heavy focus on standardized testing

| 16 Oct 2018 | 01:47

— Legislation that just passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would give students greater flexibility in graduation requirements.
The bill would remove the heavy focus on standardized testing as a requirement to graduate and instead allow students various options to show proficiency in pursuing their own career paths, says PA Rep. Rosemary Brown (R-189).
Senate Bill 1095 would provide Pennsylvania students with additional options to fulfill high school graduation requirements beyond the Keystone Exams. Students who do not score proficient on the exams would be able to demonstrate their readiness to graduate through alternative routes.
The bill outlines several 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
An offer of full-time employment as evidence of post-secondary readiness.
As part of the bill, the Keystone Exam graduation requirement would be put 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 now goes back to the Senate, 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, Brown said.