The freshmen class of the 2011-2012 school year may be in for a different experience when it comes to the Alabama high school state testing system.
Since 1977 students across the state of Alabama have been taking the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE). There have been several different editions to the AHSGE over the years but the general concept has been the same. So, how much longer will the graduation exam be given?
According to an article written by Marie Leech of The Birmingham News, the Alabama State Board of Education has approved an overhaul of the testing system currently being used by the state of Alabama. This plan would involve doing away with the AHSGE, which takes away 15 instructional days out of the school year, and replace it with regular end-of-course tests, issued by the state, in the same subject. Tommy Bice, the deputy state superintendent, said that the final score on the end-of-course test would not be the determining factor in passing the class or graduating.
The new system would require all 11th graders to take the ACT college entrance exam and a writing assessment. According to The Birmingham News, the state will pay the $75 fee for the students to take the ACT once. If the students are not happy with the score they receive, it will be their responsibility to pay to take it again.
State school Superintendent Joe Morton was quoted in the same article as saying that he hopes that this change will get the 26 percent of children who do not take the ACT to give more thought about attending college.
Zach Freeman, a senior at MHS, has taken the ACT twice and says that the ACT and graduation exam vary, and the ACT prepares you more for college than the AHSGE. The state board hopes that this will help students to be more prepared for life outside of high school.
Marie Vincent, a counselor at MHS, wants parents to understand that this will only affect the freshman class of 2011-2012. All classes until then will have to finish taking the AHSGE.