The following letter from State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick explains general information to parents and guardians concerning the High School Assessment initiative:

April 1999

Dear Parent/Guardian of Maryland Sixth- and Seventh-Grade Students:

Over the past two years, the Maryland State Department of Education has been keeping parents, teachers, students, and local school systems informed as to the status of the Maryland High School Assessments. Recently, the State Board of Education approved an additional year to conduct statewide trial, or "dry run," tests of the Maryland High School Assessments. As a result of the Board's decision, the first group of students whose diplomas will depend on passing the assessments will be those students entering 9th grade in the fall of 2001 today's 6th-grade students, who we anticipate will graduate in the spring of 2005. Students entering 9th grade prior to the fall of 2001 will still participate in the statewide trial testing. However, their diplomas will not depend on passing the assessments.

What is the new time line for these tests?

Trial tests will be given to large numbers of students in January and May 2000. Statewide trial tests will be administered in January and May 2001. Testing as a graduation requirement will begin in January 2002. Students entering 9th grade in the fall of 2001 today's 6th-grade students will be the first students whose high school diplomas will depend on passing the assessments. The assessments will cover English; algebra or geometry; government; and, if the local school system decides to require it, biology. Students entering 9th grade after the fall of 2001 will be responsible for passing additional assessments as they are approved by the State Board.

Why were the tests delayed?

A full-scale trial test will give your school system and school a clear picture of how staffing and scheduling will be affected by the testing as it will occur when it counts. This allows schools adequate time to provide the best possible testing conditions for students. Also, the trial tests will give the State Board a more accurate picture of the scores we can expect in 2002, which will help us set challenging, yet attainable, passing scores.

What does this delay mean for the high school assessments?

This decision to add a year of trial testing in no way changes the direction or purpose of the high school assessments. When the Board approved the testing schedule, it understood that occasional adjustments might be needed to ensure that the tests are both fair and challenging and that schools can administer the tests with few problems. Another year of trial test scores will allow us to do a better job. Also, we still plan to provide a comprehensive support program, also called an intervention program, that will give additional support to students having difficulty passing the tests.

When can I see a sample test?

This spring, test drafts and scoring information will be available to the public. The drafts, along with example student responses, will be published in their entirety on the Web at www.msde.state.md.us. For hard copies of draft excerpts, call MSDE's public information line at 410-767-0600 or toll-free at 888-246-0016.

Where can I find more information about the high school assessments?

MSDE has updated high school assessment information on its web site, www.msde.state.md.us. Call MSDE's public information line at 410-767-0600 or toll-free at 888-246-0016. Read school newsletters, newspaper articles, bulletins, and letters regarding the high school assessments. To schedule a meeting in your area, call Dr. Daniel Gadra, Director, Maryland High School Improvement Program, at 410-767-0371.

We are committed to assisting parents, teachers, and local school systems prepare students for academic success and future employment. To do so, we must maintain flexibility in planning and implementation of the high school assessments. Flexibility is essential to the formation of good, appropriate decisions and allows teachers and students adequate time to prepare for these new tests and more rigorous standards. And while apprehension is the natural precedent to change, it is only through change that we truly grow. Through our refusal to be satisfied with the status quo, we demand better of, and offer more to, our children. Together, we will remove obstacles to learning, enhance academic achievement, and better prepare students for the demands of next century's workplace.

Sincerely,


Nancy S. Grasmick
State Superintendent of Schools

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