Maryland to offer students an alternative to High School Assessments Scores on Advanced Placement exams could meet graduation requirement

GAITHERSBURG (July 26, 2006) – The Maryland State Department of Education, with support and preliminary approval from the U. S. Department of Education, will offer high school students another option for passing the State’s end-of-course High School Assessments (HSA) when classes begin this fall.

Making the announcement today, State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick said students who take certain Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams will be able to meet the HSA graduation requirement if they receive a score of 3 or higher on the AP exam or a score of 4 or higher on the IB exam. Students will need to take specific AP and IB exams in order to make a substitution. Maryland is among the first states in the nation to offer this option to students.

“Maryland has the highest growth in AP participation in the nation,” Dr. Grasmick said. “We believe that by allowing this substitution, we will be encouraging more of our students to take the highly challenging AP and IB courses and tests, ensuring that more of our students have a world class high school experience.”

Governor Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board that administers the AP program, and Dr. Jerry Weast, Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, joined Dr. Grasmick for the announcement at Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg.

“This is wonderful news for students in Maryland and for teachers and school counselors who dedicate time and energy to encouraging high standards of achievement,” Governor Caperton said. “Hopefully this will provide additional encouragement for students to take on the challenge of rigorous courses so that they are better prepared for college.”

According to the College Board, the number of Maryland students taking AP exams has increased by 70% in the last five years. In January 2005, the College Board ranked Maryland number two in the nation in the proportion of graduating seniors who received a college-mastery score on one or more AP exams. Many colleges award full college credit to students for certain courses if they receive a score of 3 or better on the AP 5-point scale.

Recognizing the large number of Montgomery County students who participate in the AP program, Dr. Weast said, “Student success on the rigorous AP and IB tests has become a hallmark for the county, and this initiative will encourage even more students to pursue the highest level of rigorous coursework. We appreciate Dr. Grasmick’s work with the federal government to gain approval of this groundbreaking initiative to reward students for their outstanding academic achievements.”

For example, more than 2,300 Montgomery County Public School students who took AP Government this past year could have avoided the duplicate High School Assessment on the topic had this new rule been in place this past school year.

"Why take two when one will do?" said Dr. Weast. "We believe our students will really benefit from this new policy."

Students who entered grade 9 in 2005, this year’s tenth graders, are required to pass Maryland High School Assessments in English 2, algebra/data analysis, biology and government to receive their high
school diploma. Students in grades 11 and 12 are only required to take the assessments in order to graduate and may substitute taking the AP and IB exams as well.

The U. S. Department of Education granted flexibility to Maryland last year to allow the substitute tests for certain students with the anticipation that full approval for all students would be forthcoming once the State completed comparison studies between the AP/IB exams and the High School Assessments. The results of those studies are expected to be sent to USDE before schools open this fall.

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