About: History
Maryland has had graduation exams for 25 years. The old exams, the Maryland Functional Tests, were basic-skills tests that most students passed in middle school. Twenty-five years later, this country's expectations and minimum skill requirements have changed. Maryland's new exams, the High School Assessments, set the achievement bar higher.
Graduation exams aren't unique to Maryland; 22 other states have some sort of exit exam in place. Over the 15 years that the High School Assessments have been in development, Maryland has learned from these states' efforts and has crafted an assessment that fits what our students need and deserve.
With the close collaboration and support of Maryland's educators, MSDE has taken a cautious, deliberate approach to test development. Hundreds of teachers took part in the development process. They decided what material should be included on the tests, and set the passing scores themselves, at a level they thought all students could reach by 2009.
With a 15-year development timeline and the expertise of hundreds of Maryland's teachers, we are confident that the HSAs will help us prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century.
L
