Michigan's eighth graders will face a change in mandatory state tests starting this April.
The state's eighth graders will take the College Board's P-S-A-T 8/9 in math and english language arts.
This will replace the M-STEP test previously required for these subjects.
Andy Middlestead is with the Michigan Department of Education.
He says Michigan will be the first state to require the P-S-A-T 8/9 to assess eighth graders.
"It would be more aligned to the S-A-T in grade eleven and to provide a longer runway for students to prepare for success on that 11th grade S-A-T exam."
Critics say switching to the P-S-A-T will make it harder to measure whether eighth graders have mastered the skills expected of them - and harder to compare their performance to kids in other states.