Pennsylvania school boards would relinquish some control over locally designed graduation tests, under a compromise with state education officials that was announced last week.
The deal will let districts use their own tests for math, English, social studies, and science, as long as they meet state standards. The state education department said it would split the cost of verifying the tests’ quality with districts.
The agreement cleared a major hurdle to graduation tests by preserving some of the local control that the Pennsylvania School Boards Association had sought. The proposal also delayed implementation of the tests for an additional year; they will be in place for students on track to graduate high school in 2015.
