Bill directing state education secretary to assess Keystone Exams passes Pa. House
Rep. Gina H. Curry May 4, 2026
HARRISBURG, May 4 – State Rep. Gina H. Curry, D-Delaware, today announced that her legislation pushing for a Keystone Exam Alternative Feasibility Study passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of XX to XXX.
Should the state Senate also pass H.B. 1752, the Pennsylvania Department of Education secretary would be tasked with contracting an independent study to determine whether the academic SAT, ACT, and Smarter Balanced high school assessments could be used in place of the 11th grade Keystone Exams in Pennsylvania.
“Since 2012, the Keystone Exams have helped schools and the state and federal government keep track of student subject competency and teaching accountability,” Curry said. “They have also had many pros and cons, and this bill’s intent is to alleviate some of those cons.”
According to Curry, one downside to assessments such as the Keystone Exams is the cost of administering them to students. In 2019, a report by the state Auditor General found that while the Keystone Exams cost approximately $17.6 million annually to administer and score for all high school juniors, the cost of administering and scoring the SAT for both juniors and seniors was only $13.3 million per year.
“Like the Keystones, the SAT and other college-readiness tests assess student competency of certain subjects – these tests are all largely looking at the same type of metrics, even if they’re scoring them somewhat differently,” Curry said. “If schools had the flexibility to offer their students the SAT or ACT instead of Keystones, that’s a significant savings. Half of our students already choose to take the SAT or ACT as part of their college application process.”
Under the bill, the independent study would assess:
- The degree to which the ACT, SAT and Smarter Balanced tests align with the Keystone Exams.
- How well the results of these exams provide comparable assessment of student achievement, compared to the Keystone Exams.
- Whether these exams can accommodate students with disabilities and English learners as well as the Keystone Exams.
- Whether using these tests would meet existing state and federal requirements.
- A cost-comparison of using these tests in place of the Keystone Exams.
In addition, the state education secretary would be responsible for submitting a report that details how the department and schools would transition to a new testing protocol, how results would be reported, and more.
“We all know education evolves as we learn more about student success and as the world changes,” Curry said. “Considering changes to our standardized testing practices should be part of that evolution, too.”
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.