The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test (PARCC) was given for the last time in 2018 and now will be replaced with the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP).

The new tests will be broken down into math and English, the same as the PARCC exams, although MCAP exams will be broken down further in order to give more flexibility for schools. The math exam for MCAP will now be broken into four units, each 40 minutes long, giving schools the ability to administer exams in a single class period if so chosen. The English testing will also be broken into four sections, with each unit will be 70 minutes. This is still reduced from the six hours of English testing under PARCC.

From Baltimore Sun’s coverage on the English testing portion of MCAP:

State Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Judkins said students need that time to read passages, comprehend them and then complete writing prompts. For equity purposes, she said, it didn’t seem right to rush the students who may take longer to write.

“To do that in 40 minutes didn’t seem doable,” she said.

But the state education department plans to revisit that decision next year, after the first round of MCAP testing. Officials are keeping an open mind about trimming the English units down to an hour, Judkins said.

Visit the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program website.