Daniela Berson
WMAL.com
ROCKVILLE, MD — (WMAL) The Montgomery County School Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to phase out final exams in public schools.
Scott Murphy, the Director of Secondary Curriculum and Districtwide Programs said that the new policy would not end exams altogether but make test schedules and formats more like college classes.
Instead of cramming a series of final exams into one week, cumulative tests would be distributed at appropriate times during the semester.
“Colleges tell us that final exams are not a series of traditional multiple choice tests that take place on the last day,” Murphy said.
Murphy also said that members of the school board would work with teachers to create a testing schedule unique to each class that would adequately test students’ abilities.
Changes to the final exam schedule will start as early as next semester and will be fully implemented in the 2016-2017 school year.
The resolution has no effect on state distributed tests, like AP exams and PARCC testing.
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