Md. to Phase Out Innovative Testing Program

By David J. Hoff

Maryland students will be setting aside test tubes and picking up No. 2 pencils when they take state tests, starting next year.

After a decade of eschewing multiple-choice questions in favor of essays, laboratory reports, and mathematical reasoning, the state will move toward traditional testing practices that cover a breadth of material and are easy to score.

The changes will allow the state to rate individual students' abilities, rather than the school-by-school results it now reports for 3rd, 5th, and 8th graders. The new approach will fulfill requirements of the new federal education law, but it also reflects pressure from local school leaders and parents who want to know exactly how each child is...