Mississippi students will no longer have to pass U.S. History assessment test to graduate

The Mississippi Board of Education voted Thursday to eliminate the state U.S. History assessment test.

The Commission on School Accreditation had voted in a special meeting on April 15 to eliminate the test. Chief Accountability Officer Paula Vanderford argued the benefits of eliminating the test, noting scores from the U.S. history test aren’t included in the Mississippi Department of Education’s accountability report cards. 

Getting rid of the test, she said, would save the state money and add more weight to the other three state assessments: Algebra, Biology, and English.

Mississippi students are still required to take and pass U.S. history class to graduate from high school, but the statewide U.S. History Mississippi Academic Assesment Program test will no longer be a graduation requirement beginning this fall. Those who had to repeat senior year of high school can take other options. She suggested requiring a college and career readiness course as an alternative.

“One point that we talked about in the subcommittee and have talked about at great length with the accountability task force is that we’re one of the few states with high stakes assessments or high-stakes end-of-course assessments for graduation, so it’s been quite a number of years since we’ve taken a look at that to see if we wanted to go with a different route,” said Vanderford.

Some members of the board expressed concern that taking out the history test would have a negative impact on students’ historical knowledge. 

Mary Werner, who voted against removing the test, stated “I think history is so important, and American history is just…even from a former English teacher’s point of view, if you don’t have the history, you have a hard time understanding the literature,” said Mary Werner, who voted against removing the test.

Vanderford explained that passing the history course would be enough to demonstrate mastery of the subject.

Board of Education Chair Glen East was also expressed concerned, but said he was confident that Mississippi’s history curriculum was strong. He ultimately voted in favor of eliminating the test. “I do not see us going backwards based on the plain increase in the curriculum and the rigor we have placed on it.”

Kelly Riley, executive director of Mississippi Professional Educators, commented that she wasn’t surprised by the decision. “I think due to the evolving accreditation model as well as the amount of time that is required to be spent preparing for and administering state tests, I can’t say that I’m surprised by today’s decision,” she said.