The Board of Regents has announced a decision to reduce the number of testing days for students in grades 3-8.
Testing days will be reduced beginning with spring exams in 2018, bringing English language arts (ELA) and math testing down from three to two days.
"The Regents have taken a bold step forward today," said Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa. "This decision not only reduces the amount of time children will spend taking tests, but also returns valuable instructional time to our teachers. We will make certain the tests continue to provide a valid and reliable measurement of student achievement."
"The Regents and I continue to listen to the concerns of parents and teachers and to make additional adjustments to the grades 3-8 exams," said State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia. "In response to those public concerns, last year we reduced the number of test questions and moved to untimed testing. Today's decision is another important step in our efforts to deliver a rigorous testing regime that is responsive to the public's concerns."
Lowering the number of test sessions also has the following benefits:
- Reduces scoring time for teachers
- May help more schools transition sooner to computer-based testing
- More quickly implements the recommendation of the Governor's Common Core Task Force to cut down the number of days of student testing
The Next Generation Standards, adopted this year, plan to be measured with new assessments beginning Spring 2021.
