Massachusetts’ Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved a new standardized test for public school students.The exam was approved by an 8-3 vote Tuesday and would combine elements of the current Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test with another test aligned with Common Core state standards.
Approval of the hybrid test comes after two years of debate whether to replace the MCAS with the PARCC test.
PARCC stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. It was developed by a national coalition that includes Massachusetts.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester recommended the changes last week.
MCAS has been used since 1998. Passing the exam's English language and math portions became a high school graduation requirement in 2003.
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