Mendenhall– Common Core in the classroom means big changes for your kid’s state test requirements.
Your children have brought home their state test scores but this week your school district will know their grade on how well they tested overall. The Mississippi Department of Education breaks down the test scores and how well the students did to show where that district ranks compared to other Mississippi districts. But this year, the scores from the state testing are undergoing big changes. Simpson County School District Associate Superintendent Dr. Thomas Duncan says the changes provide options for students having trouble with the state test.
“You have to take the state test and pass it to graduate. But starting this year, if a student fails the state test twice, there’s options to still graduate without having passed the state test.”
Career technical tests, the ASVAB military exam and having an ACT composite score of 17 are all alternatives to the failed state test.
All state testing is now done online. The schools will have a period of time to have the testing completed. Instead of the whole school testing in one day, groups of students test over a period of up to 20 days.
Common Core standards also implement college prep classes for their seniors and the state testing alternatives coincide with that preparation mentality. If your student doesn’t pass his state test, there are career tests he or she can take and still graduate on time.
These changes begin this school year.
