Montgomery, AL – High school students in Alabama will have to continue taking the state's graduation exams for at least another year.
Alabama Department of Education officials had announced plans to phase out the graduation tests in favor of end-of-the-course exams. But the officials say budget cuts and other issues have delayed development of the new exams.
Education officials say seniors who graduate in 2016 are now expected to be the first to take the new end-of-course tests. The new exams will count for as much as 25 percent of a student's report card grade in select subjects.
Seniors who graduate in 2015 may be the last to take the current graduation exams.
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