Maryland moves to multiple choice answers

Maryland plans to eliminate written–response questions from its high school exit exams to address long–standing complaints about how slowly test results are processed, state education officials said September 12, 2007. Beginning in May 2009, the Maryland school system will phase out “brief constructed responses” and “extended constructed responses”— questions requiring a short or long written answer—from its four tests covering algebra, English, biology and government, said Ronald A. Peiffer, the state's deputy superintendent for academic policy. Eliminating those questions will allow the state to process test results up to four weeks faster than before, Peiffer said. Read the article at washingtonpost.com.