Public high school students in Vicksburg and across the state will no longer have to write a narrative essay to pass a test that allows them to graduate from high school.

The Mississippi State Board of Education voted Friday to eliminate one of two writing requirements from the English II Writing Assessment test.

&#8220This was not a surprise to us, but it is a big change,” said Shelley Plett, supervising director of information management and testing for the Vicksburg Warren School District.

The narrative writing prompt is one of three sections of the English II assessment, usually taken by sophomores. The two remaining sections are multiple choice and an informative writing prompt.

Other subjects tested are algebra, biology and history.

The narrative writing prompt has been in place since 2002, Plett said.

Cindy Simmons, director of student assessment for the Mississippi Department of Education, said the state board has discussed eliminating the section before to make it more in line with college-entrance exams.

&#8220We have been heading in that direction to gear students toward the ACT and SAT writing requirements,” she said.

Simmons said students will now choose one of two informative prompts to complete, which will allow more concentration time.

&#8220We will now just have one writing sample from each student rather than two,” Simmons said.

The requirement change is retroactive, meaning any student who has passed only the informative prompt of the assessment has met the English II writing requirement for graduation.

Plett said it’s too early to predict how the change may affect students in the long run, although she considers it a positive change.

&#8220We’ll just have to wait and see,” Plett said.

Students at private and parochial schools are tested differently, a spokesman for St. Aloysius High School said Friday.

The change in the writing-assessment test is effective immediately, Simmons said.