Gov. Tom Wolf says that there will be a significant reduction in standardized testing, calling on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment to cut the length of the tests by 20 percent in grades three through eight.

The reduction in test time arose from discussions between the Department of Education and educators for nearly a year as they developed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Consolidated State Plan.

“As I have traveled the commonwealth on the Schools That Teach tour, I have heard from parents, students and educators concerned about the amount of time devoted to taking standardized tests,” Wolf said Monday during a stop at Susquehanna Middle School in Dauphin County. “This reduction will ease the stress placed on our kids, and will allow students and teachers to focus more on learning than on testing. This change should also reassure parents that we’ve listened to their concerns about over-testing.”

David London, superintendent of the Smethport Area School District, said he was happy about the change.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” London said. “We spend too much time on standardized testing when need more learning experiences for the students. I hope to see more done in this direction.”

Katy Pude, superintendent of the Bradford Area School District, mentioned that the decision to reduce the PSSA time was a “good faith effort.” She explained that in many ways, especially for younger grades, testing can take too long for children in their developmental ages.

“The younger grades need to spend more time learning than being tested on what they’ve learned,” she said.

Pude added that although she understands that schools need to be accountable to state standards, she was happy to see that the department of education had listened to public opinion on the matter. She extended that she would like to see more action arise from the recent change in standardized testing.

“It would be extremely helpful for educators and students to have the tests taken towards the end of the year,” she said. “It makes it difficult to test students on material that hasn’t been covered in classes yet, so moving it to later would also be ideal.”

Beginning this school year, students and teachers in grades three through eight will spend an average of 20 percent less time on statewide testing, and an even greater reduction — nearly 25 percent — for Pennsylvania’s youngest students. The department has identified and removed two sections — one in math, one in English language arts — and additional questions from the science section, which could eliminate up to two full testing days for some schools.
The math assessment will be shortened by 48 minutes for students in grades three through eight by removing a section of multiple-choice questions. The English language arts assessment will be shortened by 45 minutes and the science assessment will be shortened by 22 minutes.

Details about the PSSA reduction and the Future Ready PA Index are available in Pennsylvania’s ESSA Consolidated State Plan, on department of education’s website. The plan is open for public comment until Aug. 31.