Lingering questions remain about how changes to the High School Assessment tests by the Maryland Department of Education earlier this month will affect the students required to take the exams in order to graduate, Montgomery County Public School officials said.

The county board of education is expected to discuss the revamped tests, required in English, algebra, government and biology, during their regular meeting today.

Several board members said they want clarification on how a new “Bride Plan,” approved by the state Oct. 31, would work and how it would be monitored.

They also said that a change to the tests that dropped an essay portion in favor of multiple-choice questions has not been sufficiently vetted.

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Under the plan, all students, starting with the class of 2009, must pass the tests. Students who fail a test will be allowed to complete a special project in the subject if they have passed the class but failed the exam twice.

County officials had supported pushing back the exam to a later year.

“What guidelines will they give you for [the] project?” board member Sharon Cox asked Monday. “The question is, how much is up in the air until the child has done the work?”

Board member Steve Abrams said he wanted to know if students who fail the exam in their final semester would be allowed to retake it before graduation.

County school leaders have complained that they fear students who fail the exam will opt to drop out.

“The question is, how can you take it twice in your last semester?” Abrams said.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com