Yesterday, the Maryland state board of education voted 9-2 to make the state's high school assessment tests a requirement for graduation beginning with the class of 2009. The move makes Maryland one of 19 states that have mandated graduation exit exams. According to the proposal, by 2009 all students would be required to pass at minimum the state's "functional tests" in reading, math, and writing to earn a local diploma, but to earn a full-fledge state diploma, they must also pass tests in algebra, English, government and biology. Severely disabled students, who will be exempted from the state's regular tests, will be awarded a certificate of completion. While some board members fear that the new testing requirement will dramatically increase the number of drop-outs in the state, Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, notes that "although states normally see a slight increase in their dropout rates the first year that exit exams are in place, there is no long-term link to the number of students who leave school."
"Md. to give class of '09 exit exams," by Ylan Q. Mui, Washington Post, December 4, 2003