By Staff
LANSING -- A bipartisan group of Michigan senators on Tuesday announced a five-bill package that would replace the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test for high-school students with one based on a college entrance exam.
State Sen. Ron Jelinek, R-Three Oaks, said the legislation follows the recommendation of the Education Alliance of Michigan, which issued a report earlier this year urging the Legislature to study the replacement of the high-school MEAP test.
the time they graduate," said Jelinek, chair of the Senate K-12 appropriations Subcommittee. "This new test should alleviate the concerns educators, students and parents have had about the MEAP. It also will help better prepare and educate students for life after high school."
The proposed test, called the Michigan Merit Exam, would use a combination of a college-admissions test, a workplace skills exam and a social studies component. The test would first be given to students in 2006.
The effort is supported by a broad coalition of state leaders in secondary and post-secondary education.
The college-admissions test to be used isn't specified in the legislation.