Springtime will bring changes to state standardized tests for students in grades 3–8, state education officials announced in February. A reduction in the number of test questions and the elimination of official time limits are among the immediate changes teachers and students will notice.

The UFT has assembled a task force of dozens of rank-and-file educators from across the city, including teachers of students with disabilities and English language learners, to study and propose possible changes to the state standards. Beginning this year, members of the task force and other teachers from around the state will provide input to Questar Assessment, Inc. — which is replacing Pearson as the developer of the state exams — as it designs and develops test items for the new state exams.

“At long last, educators will have a real say in the process of developing a meaningful assessment process in New York, including the opportunity to help develop better items for the state tests,” said UFT Vice President for Education Evelyn DeJesus. “This is an important first step on the path toward addressing the many problems that our members have identified with the exams in recent years.”

In addition to involving educators in the creation of the new exams, the State Education Department has reduced the number of questions students will face on both the ELA and math exams for this school year. On Day One of the ELA test, students will see one fewer reading passage and six to seven fewer multiple-choice questions, depending on their grade. On Day Two, the number of constructed-response questions will be reduced from three to two. Day Three of the ELA test looks the same as it has in the past, with three reading passages and six constructed-response questions.

On the math test, students will see two fewer multiple-choice questions on Day One and two fewer constructed-response questions on Day Two.

Perhaps the most significant alteration to the state exams is the elimination of strict time limits.

“This change will provide students further opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do by allowing them to work at their own pace,” the department said in a memo. The memo clarifies that students will be allowed as much time as they need to complete the exam “as long as they are productively working.”

“We’re glad that the State Education Department has begun to recognize the need to listen to the voices of educators and the concerns of parents,” said DeJesus.