State Testing Unclear After Contract Withdrawal

BY JEFF AMY
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. – It’s unclear which standardized tests Mississippi’s 490,000 public school students will take this spring after the state Department of Education withdrew its request for a contract with Pearson PLC.

The $8.4 million contract was to pay for the first year of Mississippi’s participation in a multistate testing group called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC.

The Personal Service Contract Review Board must approve the contract, but the Department of Education withdrew it before the contract board met Tuesday.

The move could encourage opponents of Mississippi’s participation in the Common Core State Standards. The PARCC tests are supposed to measure students using those standards.

The rejection is also likely to encourage superintendents who want Mississippi to adopt tests from the ACT organization instead of PARCC.

Categories: Local News

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