JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — Current seniors in Mississippi public schools could be the first in decades to graduate without passing an exit exam.
State Superintendent Carey Wright announced Tuesday before the Senate Education Committee that, while the department would continue giving subject-area exams in algebra, biology, English and U.S. history, students would still be able to graduate without passing them.
The state Board of Education must approve the change.
Instead, the tests would count for 20 percent to 30 percent of the student’s course grade.
Wright moved after the House passed a bill abolishing the test-passing requirement. That measure died Tuesday in the Senate committee at a legislative deadline.
Many local superintendents have pushed to end the tests, saying a new requirement that all juniors take the ACT college exam is a better option.
