An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in preliminary provisions, providing for Keystone Exam alternative feasibility study.
Summary
HB381 would require the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education to contract for an independent feasibility study on whether the ACT and SAT could be used in place of the current statewide Keystone Exams in literature, Algebra I, and biology for high school students. The study must examine whether those college-readiness tests align with Pennsylvania academic standards and whether they could serve as substitutes consistent with federal requirements for state assessment systems.
The bill also directs the study to evaluate whether ACT and SAT results would provide valid, reliable, and comparable data for student achievement across all students and student subgroups, including students with disabilities and English learners. In addition, the analysis must consider whether the tests would support school accountability measures fairly and whether they would satisfy federal technical peer-review standards for statewide assessments. The secretary would have to report findings and recommendations to legislative leaders and the Governor within one year of the bill’s effective date.
Impact
If enacted, HB381 would not immediately replace the Keystone Exams, but it would add a new statutory requirement to the Public School Code of 1949 for the Department of Education to study possible alternatives. It would create a formal state review process focused on the ACT and SAT as potential substitutes for Pennsylvania’s current high school assessment system, with attention to federal compliance, technical quality, accommodations, and accountability implications for schools and students.
Sentiment
The available context shows no recorded committee debate or votes, so there is no documented public sentiment from hearings or floor action. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears to be a study-oriented proposal rather than an immediate policy change, which often indicates a cautious or exploratory approach to a contested education issue.
Contention
The main points of contention likely involve whether college-admissions exams can adequately replace Keystone Exams for state accountability and graduation-related purposes, and whether they would produce comparable results across student groups. Potential concerns include alignment with Pennsylvania standards, fairness for students with disabilities and English learners, and whether using ACT/SAT scores would satisfy federal assessment requirements. Supporters would likely favor the study as a way to explore testing flexibility, while critics may worry it could weaken state-specific academic measurement or shift the system toward tests designed for college readiness rather than statewide proficiency.