by Kara Thompson ’20

 After just four years of administering the PARCC, Maryland will follow in the footsteps of many other states who have decided to forgo the exams. Spring 2019 will be the last time these exams are administered, as educators throughout the state have deemed PARCC an inaccurate representation of the curriculum. According to the Washington Post, the main frustration with PARCC has been how long it took to administer: on average, testing took about 10 hours, and was very disruptive to instructional time in the classroom. Along with that, results usually did not come back soon enough to actually be helpful in guiding teachers on what students struggle with, and more than half the students who take it don’t pass. 

 Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, PARCC will be replaced by the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, or MCAPs. State officials hope these tests will be similar to the Common Core State Standards while staying rigorous. The goal for these new exams is to test students’ knowledge and skills while taking less time and being less disruptive to instructional time. Some critics already worry that MCAPs will be eliminated just as soon as previous exams, which were only administered a few years each. Each standardized test seems to have a whole new set of issues, but the Maryland State Education Association seems confident in the new exam.