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JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) voted today to begin the public comment process on whether the state should eliminate the U.S. History end-of-course exam. The SBE’s final decision on the end-of-course exam will occur at the conclusion of the public comment period and after comments have been reviewed. Any decision to remove the U.S. History end-of-course exam would not be effective until the 2020-21 school year.
U.S. History will remain a required course for graduation.
The SBE’s decision follows both the Commission on School Accreditation and the Mississippi Student Testing Task Force decisions to recommend elimination of the U.S. History end-of-course exam on the heels of an opinion poll of secondary education teachers who voted to eliminate the exam. The U.S. History end-of-course exam is the only state test not required by federal or state law.
The U.S. History exam is given to high school students upon completion of the course. It is one of four end-of-course assessments that Board policy requires students to take to graduate. The other tests, in Biology, Algebra I and English II, are required by federal law. Students don’t have to pass the subject area tests to graduate, as the SBE offers several options for students to earn a diploma.
Any member of the public may submit written comments to Dr. Jo Ann Malone, Office of Accreditation, 359 N. West Street, Post Office Box 771, Jackson, MS 39205-0771. They may also submit comments by email (accreditation@mdek12.org). Students, teachers, and school administrators are encouraged to submit comments.
All public comments must be received in the Office of Accreditation no later than 5 p.m. on October 22, 2019. Comments will be presented to the SBE on November 7, 2019.
