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The Board of Regents today announced its decision to reduce the number of days of student testing on the grades 3-8 State assessments in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics from three to two. This change takes effect beginning with the tests that will be administered in Spring 2018 and applies to grades 3-8.

“The Regents have taken a bold step forward today,” said Regents Chancellor Betty A. 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.”

In addition to reducing the number of test sessions, the Board’s��decision has the following benefits:

• Reduces scoring time for teachers;
• May help enable more schools to transition sooner to computer-based testing; and
• More quickly implements the recommendation of the Governor’s Common Core Task Force to reduce the number of days of student testing.

The projected trend line for standards and assessments over the coming years is:

• July 2017: Adoption of Next Generation Standards;
• 2017-2018 School Year: New two-day assessments measuring the current��standards; professional development on Next Generation Standards;
• 2018-2019 School Year: Two-day assessments measuring the current��standards; professional development continuing on Next Generation Standards;
• 2019-2020 School Year: Two-day assessments measuring the current��standards; professional development continuing on Next Generation Standards;
• September 2020: Full implementation of the Next Generation Standards;
• Spring 2021: New assessments measuring Next Generation��Standards.

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