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Press Release: PARCC Transition Prompts State Board To Update Grad Requirements

Framework Approved, New Regulations Will Be Proposed

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

Baltimore, MD (October 28, 2014)

The Maryland State Board of Education today approved a framework for updating high school graduation requirements as the State transitions to new assessments.

Under the plan approved by the State Board, passing the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams in English 10 and Algebra I will not become a graduation requirement until the 2016-17 school year.  The Board in December will likely act on proposed regulations based on the framework.

“Today’s discussion on the move to assessments aligned to Maryland’s College and Career Ready Standards was focused on our students in the same way we’ve focused on our educators throughout this period,” said Dr. Mary Kay Finan, Vice President of the Maryland State Board of Education.  “Our two-year plan will allow our students and teachers to become more knowledgeable in the more rigorous standards during the transition.”

Although the PARCC exams are being given this year for the first time in mathematics and English, the process with which the passing scores are set will not be completed until December 2015.  This transition caused challenges for some students who had taken HSA-aligned courses, as well as students enrolled in the first years of the PARCC-aligned courses.

For students enrolled in the tested high school courses during 2014-15 and 2015-16, the following requirements will be included in a new regulatory proposal:

  • Students who have taken the Algebra I HSA-aligned course will have the opportunity to retake the exam in 2014-15.  Because the HSA-aligned test ends after the 2014-15 school year, students who have not passed will not need to take a make-up test in 2015-16 in order to graduate.  These students must still pass the course as part of their graduation requirements.
  • Students who have taken the English 10 HSA-aligned course will have the opportunity to re-take the exam in 2014-15.  Because the HSA-aligned test ends after the 2014-15 school year, students who have not passed will not need to take a make-up test in 2015-16 in order to graduate.  These students must still pass the course as part of their graduation requirements.
  • Students taking the Algebra I course aligned to PARCC in 2014-15 and 2015-16, and not passing the test, will not be required to pass the exam in order to graduate.  These students must still pass the course as part of their graduation requirements.
  • Students taking the English 10 course aligned to PARCC in 2014-15 and 2015-16, and not passing the test, will not be required to pass the exam in order to graduate.  These students must still pass the course as part of their graduation requirements.
  • As in the past, all students still must pass the government and biology High School Assessments – or successfully complete the Bridge Plan project-based assessment in those subjects – in order to graduate.

The presentation made to the Maryland State Board of Education today recommended that students enrolled in the PARCC-aligned courses during 2016-17 and beyond will have to pass all four assessments, or successfully complete Bridge Plan projects in those subjects, to receive a Maryland high school diploma.

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