State Proposes Gradual Rise In Diploma Test Score Standard

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Maryland State Board of Education says it plans to gradually increase the standardized test scores that students must achieve to earn a high school diploma starting next school year.

The agency said Wednesday it will publish the proposed rule soon in the Maryland Register, followed by a 30-day public-comment period.

The class of 2017 will be the first affected. Under the proposal, they would have to get a combined score of 1,450 on 10th-grade English and Algebra I exams from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

The requirement would increase over the next three years, leveling off at 1,500 for the class of 2020.

The agency said in October that fewer than half of students who took the tests last year met or exceeded expectations.