COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Students in Branch County and across Michigan this spring are facing a transition testing period. The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress examines those in grades three through eight on English language arts and math, as well as science for grades four and seven, and social studies in grades five and eight. It also includes the Michigan Merit Examination for 11th graders.
State House Education Committee Chairwoman Amanda Price of Park Township says that the timing of this test is as important as what is being asked. According to Price, a lot of teachers and students would experience learning loss from the summer and then be tested and now by moving it to the spring it will be much better way to conduct an assessment of children. M-STEP, which replaces the 44-year-old Michigan Educational Assessment Program test, will itself undergo a transition next year based on how this year’s exams go.