Press Release: Snow Resets Testing Window For Maryland School Assessment

MSDE Adjusts Testing Window After Monday's Snow; PARCC Field Test Window Unaffected

For Immediate Release                                            Contact: Bill Reinhard, 410-767-0486

Baltimore, MD (March 4, 2014)

The Maryland State Department of Education has adjusted the testing window for the Maryland School Assessment (MSA), following yet another snow storm.

The testing window for the MSA reading and mathematics testing for the paper assessment began yesterday, March 3, and was to end March 12.  It has now been extended to March 14, with the make-up window being March 17-18. 

Maryland schools give the MSA tests over four days – two for mathematics and two for reading.  Local school systems determine the exact testing days to be used for their schools.

Grades 5 and 7 online testing remains unchanged, running from March 3 to March 21.

Both the MSA science test and the PARCC field test will begin March 24, as scheduled, and will close on April 11.

The MSA is given to students in grades 3-8, covering mathematics and reading.  This is the final year for MSA testing for Maryland students.  The State will transition to the PARCC assessment, aligned to Maryland’s College and Career-Ready Standards, in 2015.

# # #