About: Frequently Asked Questions: Q&A
1. When do students take the High School Assessments?
Students who take high school level courses take the Maryland High School Assessment after the student completes the required course. See COMAR 13A.03.02.07. Awarding credit for the course is the acceptable definition for completing the course. Some students enrolled in HSA courses may show indications they will not receive credit for the course. Since the appropriate HSA will be administered before the course concludes and before the final credit determination is made, it may be in the best interest of the student to take the HSA at a later date following the student’s successful completion of the course.
2. Do students who take online or virtual courses have to take the High School Assessments?
Yes. If the student receives credit and the course is one of the courses for which the high school assessment is given, the student must take the high school assessment regardless of how the student received the instruction for the course. See COMAR 13A.03.02.05J.
3. Is a student required to take the High School Assessments if the student is home‐schooled, moves here from another state or foreign country, or transfers from a private school, and is granted credits in the HSA‐aligned courses?
Transfer students who receive credit for HSA‐aligned course(s) taken prior to enrolling in a Maryland public school do not have to take the assessment for those courses. See COMAR 13A.03.02.12B(2). The Maryland public school principal makes the decision on whether or not to award credit.
4. Are students who are on home and hospital instruction required to take HSA exams if they are taking/enrolled in an HSA course? Who administers the exam(s)?
Students who are on home and hospital teaching and who are completing a course for which there is a High School Assessment must participate in the HSA testing. These students would take the test on the same primary administration or make‐up testing day as students attending school but would have the test administered in their home and hospital setting. The test examiner who administers the test in the home and hospital setting, just like an in‐school test examiner, must meet all the qualifications to be a Certified Test Examiner as outlined in the Test Administration and Coordination Manual (TACM) for the High School Assessments.
5. Is a student required to take the HSA if the student transfers from one public school to another in Maryland and the student’s record indicates the student took an HSA‐aligned course but there is no record of taking the HSA?
Yes. Check the roster for the names of students who took the test at the school. The school must maintain a roster of who took the HSA. Students who entered grade 9 in the 2004-05 school year or earlier are only required to take the High School Assessments. Students who entered grade 9 in the 2005-06 school year or later are required to take and pass the High School Assessments to graduate. Students may also satisfy the HSA graduation requirement by achieving the required combined score of 1602 or successfully completing the Bridge Plan for Academic Validation (see questions 20 and 21 later in this section).
6. Does a public school student who takes an HSA‐aligned course at a private school during the summer term still have to take the HSA?
Yes. See COMAR 13A.03.02.05J.
7. Does a foreign exchange student enrolled in an HSA‐aligned course have to take the HSA?
No, as long as the student is definitely returning to his/her own country and has no expectation of receiving a Maryland diploma. If, however, the student requests a Maryland High School Diploma, the student must satisfy the applicable assessment requirements.
8. Does a student have to retake the HSA if the student is repeating an HSA‐aligned course?
The high school graduation regulations passed by the State Board specify testing requirements for students. Students who entered ninth grade in the fall of 2005 and later must pass the High School Assessments to receive the Maryland High School Diploma. There are multiple options available to help students meet the passing requirement.
For students who only need to take (but not pass) the assessments as a graduation requirement, the student will have satisfied the requirement to “take” the assessment by taking it the first time. A student who passes an HSA test but fails the corresponding HSA course does not have to take the HSA test again.
9. What are the passing scores for the HSA?
The HSA passing scores are:
Biology 400;
Algebra/Data Analysis 412;
English 396; and
Government 394.
10. Do students in the Class of 2010 have to pass all four HSAs?
Students who entered grade 9 in the fall of 2005 and later (COMAR 13A.03.02.09) must
obtain either a passing score on all four HSAs or obtain an overall combined score of 1602.
Students who meet specific criteria may use the Bridge Plan for Academic Validation to
meet the passing requirement. See questions 20 and 21 for information about the Bridge
Plan option.
11. Can a student who has met all other graduation requirements except passing an HSA be kept from graduation?
Yes. The Maryland regulation requires students entering grade 9 in 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05 school years to take the HSA as a graduation requirement. Students entering grade 9 in 2005 are required to take and pass the HSA. Students may also satisfy the HSA requirement by obtaining the combined score of 1602 or successfully completing the Bridge Plan for Academic Validation.
12. Must a middle school student take the HSA even if the school system does not award credit for the course?
Any student who takes a high school course based on the Core Learning Goals must take the HSA regardless of whether or not the student receives credit for the course.
13. Are students who do not pass the HSA required to attend remediation?
School systems are required to offer remediation to students, and students should be made aware of the availability to different types of remediation, the benefits of remediation, and the risks of choosing not to attend remediation. There is no Maryland law or regulation that requires students to attend remediation. However, school systems can develop their own local policy about participation requirements related to remediation. School systems will need to maintain documentation that remediation was offered to students who did not pass any or all of the HSAs.
14. What is the combined-score option
The combined‐score option allows a student to offset lower performance on one test with
higher performance on another. Students who use the combined‐score option must obtain
an overall combined score of at least 1602 on the four HSAs to meet the HSA passing
requirement. The student does NOT have to attain a minimum score on each test.
15. Can a student take an HSA multiple times in order to raise his/her score to meet the
combined score passing option?
Yes, but no additional instructional assistance will be provided if the student has already
passed the HSA. Additional instructional assistance must be offered to students who do not
achieve the passing score on the HSA before they can retake the test.
16. When a student retakes an HSA and scores lower than the first time, which score counts
toward the combined score and which score counts for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)?
The higher score counts toward the combined score.
17. Can a student use the combined score option regardless of how many assessments the student actually passes?
Yes.
18. Is the local school system required to offer the combined score option for students?
Yes. COMAR 13A.03.02.09B(3)(b) provides the combined score option for students. All students must have access to options provided under the regulations.
19. Can high school students opt to substitute certain AP and IB tests for High School
Assessments
Yes. Students can substitute certain AP and IB tests for the HSA in English, algebra/data analysis, biology, and government if they achieve specific scores on the AP and IB tests. See the following table:
|
HSA |
||
| HSA | AP exam (must have score of 3, 4 or 5) | IB exam (must have score of 5, 6, or 7) |
| Algebra/Data Analysis |
|
|
| English 2 |
|
|
| Government |
|
|
| Biology* |
|
|
20. What is the Bridge Plan for Academic Validation?
The Bridge Plan for Academic Validation offers students the opportunity to complete an
Academic Validation Project package that is selected to help the student demonstrate the
content and skills related to one or more HSAs that the student has failed to pass after at
least two attempts.
21. Who can participate in the Bridge Plan?
Participation in the Bridge Plan is earned by students as they work toward their high school
diploma. To participate, students must:
- have passed or be enrolled in the HSA-related course, taken the specific HSA or Mod-HSA test twice without passing or earning a score that would satisfy the 1602 combined-score option (juniors and
seniors may begin Bridge Plan projects and submit them for scoring before results are received from
a second HSA administration), - be firmly on the path to completing other graduation requirements,
- have participated in approved assistance, and
- have met the local school system’s attendance requirement.
L
