Maryland to revisit tests as graduation requirement BALTIMORE (AP) (wesm) - The State Board of Education will decide next month whether to continue requiring high school students to pass standardized tests in order to graduate.

Board president James DeGraffenreidt said Tuesday it was prudent to revisit the issue given the heated debate about the tests known as High School Assessments.

This year's seniors are the first class to have the tests as a graduation requirement. It's unclear how many students in the class of 2009 are in danger of failing because they haven't passed the tests. State education officials are in the process of collecting that data.

But board members took issue Tuesday with a claim by assistant state superintendent Leslie Wilson that there's no reason any student will be denied a diploma solely for failing the tests.

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