PACT replacement called PASS

The standardized test taken by South Carolina’s grade-school students has a new name – Palmetto Assessment of State Standards, or PASS.
   
Legislators earlier this year passed a law eliminating the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests and replacing them with new tests that give more timely and detailed information.
   
The state Education Department said in a news release Wednesday that the name PASS got 1,610 votes, edging out STARS - State Test of Achievement and Readiness for Success - with got 1,432 votes.   

The department says more than 6,000 people voted in the online poll, which ended Monday. Voters had a choice among five finalists.   

Public school students in grades three through eight will begin taking the new test in the spring. Results are used to measure student progress.