On May 12, 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that $2 million is available to enable Pennsylvania residents to take a high school equivalency exam free of charge when they test at non-restricted public testing sites or take the exam via online proctoring. The funding will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma (CSSD) is a high school equivalency credential available to Pennsylvania residents at least 18 years of age who do not possess a high school diploma and who have met additional specified criteria.

Currently, Pennsylvania test takers can expect to pay between $120-$144 to take the full battery of GED® tests or HiSET® exams. The GED® test has four subtests: Mathematics, Reading/Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. The HiSET® exam has five subtests: Mathematics, Reading, Science, Social Studies, and Writing.

Test takers can use a promo code, found with instructions on test vendor websites, to register to complete the exams at no charge. New test takers will need to register for accounts to use the promo code. For the GED® test, register here and enter the promo code PAFreeGED in the Voucher/Promotion Code field on the payment page during checkout. For the HiSET® exam, register here and enter the promo code PAFreeHiSET in the Coupon or Voucher Code field on the payment page during checkout. Test takers who already have a GED® or HiSET® account will schedule the tests through their existing accounts and enter the appropriate promo code during checkout.

Individuals who passed some subtests of the GED® test or HiSET® exam but have not passed a whole battery and earned their high school equivalency credential can complete the testing using previous scores from January 2014 to present. Test takers with test scores prior to 2014 must retake those subject subtests.

Additionally, individuals who have previously taken either the GED® test or HiSET® exam in Pennsylvania can check their progress toward test completion in DiplomaSender, the company that maintains the Commonwealth’s high school equivalency records.

In Pennsylvania, approximately 650,000 adults—or about 9.4% of Pennsylvania residents aged 25 to 65—do not have a high school diploma. Obtaining a CSSD has many benefits, including increased access to postsecondary education, more employment opportunities, and a higher salary. The GED® test and HiSET® exam provide a flexible option for individuals aspiring to attain a credential, advance their education, or switch careers. In his 2025-26 budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro has reiterated his commitment to helping learners of all ages chart their own course and have the opportunity to succeed. Through a proposed $6.4 million increase for Adult and Family Literacy programs, more Pennsylvanians will be able to earn secondary diplomas and join the workforce.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is continuing the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to further build up the teaching workforce pipeline in Pennsylvania, today launching the newly refreshed Teach in PA website—a resource for individuals interested in obtaining a career in education. The revamped site includes a user-friendly navigation feature that allows individuals to more easily find relevant job opportunities. The Teach in PA website includes a comprehensive job listing board that highlights available jobs by school and location.

The website is set up to enable visitors to “choose their own adventure”, beginning with a choice between “I want to teach” or “I’m interested in other education careers.” From there, selection criteria will guide users through a series of questions to provide tailored results, including whether users have a degree or career credentials, if they’re currently certified to teach in Pennsylvania, and where they are on their educational journey, among other selections to customize their search. The site also features a comprehensive, sortable list of education career opportunities throughout the Commonwealth that can be filtered by geographic location.

The relaunched Teach in PA website builds on the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to recruit and retain teachers by working collaboratively with leaders in the education field to ensure there is a robust pipeline of educators in place to provide a high-quality education to learners of all ages across the Commonwealth. Some of those efforts include reducing teacher certification processing times by more than ten weeks, making intern certificates free to aspiring educators, creating a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) program in Education for high school students, developing accelerated certification programming to prospective special educators, and creating and expanding the Student Teacher Support Program to provide a stipend to student teachers.

In his 2025-26 budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro has requested a $20 million increase for the Student Teacher Support Program, administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA); a $2.5 million increase for teacher professional development; and $55 million to provide funds to licensed Child Care Centers for teacher recruitment and retention, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). As of the 2023-2024 school year, Pennsylvania’s teacher workforce stands at 123,190, with the largest shortages in Grades 4-8, Special Education PK-12, Mathematics 7-12, Life & Physical Sciences 7-12, and Career and Technical Education 7-12. The United States Department of Education has designated these areas as critical shortages. Since the 2021-22 school year, 1,524 new educators have been certified in the Commonwealth.

On May 8, 2025, the PA State Board of Education held its 385th meeting at the PDE offices and via Zoom. Chairperson Karen Farmer White opened the meeting, whereby a number of committee reports were heard by the Board.

Sandra Dungee Glenn reported on behalf of the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Committee. She delivered the CTE Program of Study Report, which highlighted the new CTE Pathway program for teaching. Currently, 30 schools from 19 counties are operating programs and another 30 have applied for programming. She also reported that it is too early to determine program effectiveness. Although there is not yet enough data, data points have been identified as well as initial baseline data. She also reported on a informational session that was previously held on the assessment of educator certification programs.

A report was also given by the Higher Education Transfer of Authority Committee. That report spoke of the delineations of responsibilities between the newly-formed PA State Board of Higher Ed. (SBHE) and the State Board of Ed. It was recommended that one body, the State Board, would have responsibility for the comprehensive Master Plan. The oversight of teacher prep programming would also remain with the State Board of Ed. The SBHE would handle policies, procedures, research, building projects, campus management, and similar functions specific to higher ed. The committee also stressed the importance of communication between the two parties to ensure they are in sync and that a joint meeting be held at least annually. The State Board of Ed. would also retain its investigative capabilities, its involvement in funding with regards to SBHE and PDE, and certification standards.

Next, in her report, PA Ed. Sec. Dr. Carrie Rowe announced that Amy Lena is now the Deputy Ed. Sec. for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Ed. She the reported on the impact of funding cuts on the federal level, beginning with the cut to Museum and Library Services grants, which provide for Power Library and the PA Interlibrary Loan system. She also spoke about the 4/11/25 U.S. Department of Ed. (USDE) communiqué to LEAs on immigration, as well as and best practices related to “sensitive locations” and how schools use policies and procedures in handling issues with ICE. In addition, Title VI directives from the USDE have required SEAs and LEAs to certify compliance with Title VI, but also request the completion of a form to be signed and submitted; however, PA did not do so and instead sent a letter. Dr. Rowe also briefly touched upon a lawsuit filed in federal court by Gov. Shapiro regarding the withholding of ESSER funds and resulting in a preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs. Thus, she is urging LEAs to submit receipts for reimbursement.

Following Dr. Rowe was a report by Dr. Kate Shaw from the State Board of Higher Ed. on the state’s strategic plan for high education, which will eventually become part of the State Board of Ed.’s Basic Ed. Master Plan.

State Board Chair Karen Farmer White informed those present of the issues that arose with the use of PA Cast as the virtual meeting platform since it does not allow for the necessary two-way communication for virtual attendees. Zoom allows for such and. The Board will continue to consult with legal counsel to spoke ensure compliance with the Sunshine Act.

In action items, the Board unanimously moved to accept the Report on the Career and Technical Education Program of Study in Education. It also unanimously approved, with minor modifications, a motion to transfer responsibility of specific items to the SBHE and to keep other specified items within the oversight of the State Board of Ed. The items thus mentioned were contained within the earlier report by the Higher Education Transfer of Authority Committee.