Christie Wants To Retire High School Grad Exam

Gov. Chris Christie wants to retire New Jersey's maligned high school graduation exam and instead require students to pass a series of tougher tests at the end of required courses.

Under the plan the governor announced Monday, the HSPA would be phased out over time. But students now in high school would still have to pass the test — or an alternate assessment.

Students in 5th through 8th grade would take the new tests as part of a pilot program. The new exams would be a graduation requirement for students currently in 4th grade and younger.

Christie also said Monday that New Jersey will change the way it calculates graduation rates to conform to national standards.