As many of you are already aware, the Pennsylvania General Assembly Passed Act 158 of 2018 to modify the graduation requirements for all students in the state of Pennsylvania. This law requires that every student meet a graduation requirement of proficiency on the Keystone Exams or via an alternative pathway. Please refer to the infographic to help explain the different pathways that we as a school may use to gauge your child's fulfillment of this graduation requirement. This resource also serves as our tool to assist us in our conversations with families as we work in partnership to chart their child's path to graduation. 

 

Our team at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School will be in communication with families on their next steps in this process.  As always, thank you for your trust and please reach out to your child's school counselor if you need any further clarification. 

Our 10th grade students along with some 11th grade students took the PSATs during the morning of Wednesday, October 12th.  This free of charge and inclusive opportunity was paid for by MASD to help students identify their academic strengths and weaknesses early in high school, when there is ample time to improve before college.   Our juniors taking the PSAT also used this assessment as practice for the SAT and also have the possibly to earn scholarship money based on their performance through the National Merit Scholarship and other organizations.  The approximately three-hour exam included four timed sections: evidence based reading, writing and language, a math section without calculators allowed, and another math section with calculators allowed. In addition to these benefits, students who score 970 or above on the PSATs (1010 is the approximate average score) could qualify for one of the Pennsylvania Graduation Pathways given they earned a passing grade for the high school courses associated with each Keystone Exam (Algebra I, Biology, Literature) in which the student is less than Proficient. You may visit the PSAT website for more information: https://parents.collegeboard.org/college-board-programs/psat-nmsqt

Opportunity 1:

• Qualifying students in grade 10 and 11 may opt to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) instead of the PSAT (or in some cases, in addition to the PSAT) . This exam is a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success specifically to the military, but generally to one’s career path. This opportunity is also free for our students, took place at MASH on October 28^th and also could assist students in qualifying for one of the Pennsylvania Graduation Pathways that applies to all students in the class of 2023 and beyond.  Student scores will not be released to the military unless your child is interested in future enlistment.   

 

Opportunity 2:

• The Class of 2023 had an opportunity to take the ASVAB on Thursday, 1/26/23.

 

Opportunity 3:

• Our 10-12th grade students will have another opportunity to take the ASVAB on Friday, March 17th.  Due to this date being an Act 80 day, students will not miss any instructional classes during this time of the exam (8:15-11:30am).  After discussing this opportunity with your child, you may register their participation in this brief survey. You may also indicate their need for transportation to and from school in the same form. This parent survey should be completed by no later than Monday, March 13th.  Students who took the exam during our first two opportunities this school year will receive their score reports and further information through US Mail in the coming days.  These same students are welcome to take the exam a second time.

 

You may visit the ASVAB website for more information: https://www.officialasvab.com/

 

As you will note in the infograph above, the PSAT and the ASVAB exams may be helpful in meeting Act 158 requirements. If you would like to opt to have your child take advantage of one of these two opportunities which will be given at MASH during the month of October, please indicate by completing the Class of 2024 Parent Survey by Monday October 3, 2022.

More information will be shared as the Keystone Exam nears.