To comply with federal law, Pennsylvania currently requires that high school students complete the Keystone Exam in the areas of English language arts, mathematics, and science. But these students would be better served if we replace the Keystone Exam with the American College Test (ACT). Pennsylvania gets a better evaluation of our education standards, and all of our students get their first college placement test free.
 
I am proposing legislation to do just that, to greatly improve student opportunity while saving taxpayers millions of dollars per year, by requiring that the Pennsylvania Department of Education approve the ACT, without the essay portion, as the state standardized assessment for our high school students and subsequently cease the administration of the Keystone Exam.
 
The ACT is a three-hour, multiple-choice exam that covers four skill areas: English, math, reading, and science. As of 2022, 22 states have replaced their state-specific exam for high school students with either the ACT or the SAT. Most colleges require ACT or SAT scores to apply, so all students would now have a cost-free score for their college applications. By replacing the Keystone Exam with the ACT, we would be using a quality, nationally recognized exam to continue to assess student achievement in accordance with federal law and at the same time reduce net testing costs by an estimated $5 million per year.
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation that will save Pennsylvanian taxpayers millions of dollars per year while maintaining our adherence to federal testing requirements.
 

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 0748: P.L.30, No.14, P.L.633, No.181