About: History: Test Development
Chronology of the Maryland High School Assessment (HSA)
1992: The Governor's Commission on School Performance recommends high school exit exams for Maryland students.
1993: High School Assessment (HSA) development begins.
1994: MSDE conducts public outreach forums on the proposed assessments.
1995: The Maryland State Board of Education receives HSA implementation plan.
1996: Maryland's Core Learning Goals, the curricular standards on which the HSAs will be based, are finalized.
1997: HSA test design is finalized.
1999: HSA item trials begin.
2000: The HSAs are field-tested.
2001: HSAs are fully operational (that is, administered to all students required to take them).
2003: HSA passing scores are set.
2004: The Maryland State Board of Education approves tying HSA performance to a high school diploma.
2005: The first class of students required to pass the HSAs enters grade 9.
2006: A poll conducted by the University of Baltimore's Schaefer Center for Public Policy shows the majority of Maryland residents support high school exit exams.
2007: Maryland State Board of Education reviews HSA performance to determine if adjustments to the graduation requirement are needed.
2008: Maryland State Board of Education reviews HSA performance to determine if adjustments to the graduation requirement are needed.
2009: The class of 2009, the first group of students required to pass the HSAs, graduates from high school.
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