Nicole Raz
WMAL
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — Middle and high school Students in Montgomery County may have to take fewer tests next academic year; the school board will look Tuesday at possibly doing away with end of semester final exams.
“We have to look at how we can regain classroom instruction time,” says Patricia O’Neill, president of the county Board of Education.
Students are currently losing out on two weeks of class time, she said.
“At the end of the semester we have a week of structured review and we also have two-hour final exams at the high school level, and at the middle school as well.”
On top of local testing, there are also state tests that students must take, like the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests.
“That doesn’t mean that there won’t continue to be formative and summative assessments,” added Interim Superintendent of MCPS Larry Bowers. “There will be unit exams, there will be exams at the end of the marking periods.”
In the place of final exams, the School Board is considering final projects and/or portfolios.
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