The Maryland High School Assessments (HSA) are standardized tests that measure school and individual student progress toward the High School Core Learning Goals of the U.S. state of Maryland, which were established after passing of the No Child Left Behind Act. Passing the HSA is one of several graduation requirements beginning with the graduating class of 2009. The assessments consist of three timed exams, which are English 2 (or English 10), Biology, and Algebra/Data Analysis. The exams are usually held at the end of their corresponding courses. Each of the exams contains both multiple choice and written response questions. As of 2009, Maryland has eliminated written response and made it a long series of multiple choices. This test is considered by many students to be easy, and some think that it places to much emphasis on just a few topics. Beginning with the class of 2012, the American Government HSA would no longer be a graduation requirement. The last administration of the Government HSA was during May 2011.
There are three ways for a student to pass the HSAs. One way is to earn the passing score on each exam. The passing scores for the three HSAs are:
- English 10 - 396
- Algebra/Data Analysis - 412
- Biology - 400
In addition, a student may still be eligible for graduation if he/she does not meet the passing score. The first option, the combined-score option, requires that they earn a combined 1208 on all three assessments. The second alternative option allows the student to complete a Bridge Project for Academic Validation if they do not pass the HSA in that subject area.
Famous quotes containing the words high and/or school:
“I had a thought for no one’s but your ears:
That you were beautiful, and that I strove
To love you in the old high way of love;
That it had all seemed happy, and yet we’d grown
As weary-hearted as that hollow moon.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“The academic expectations for a child just beginning school are minimal. You want your child to come to preschool feeling happy, reasonably secure, and eager to explore and learn.”
—Bettye M. Caldwell (20th century)