NY State School Tests Suspended Due To Coronavirus

NEW YORK, NY — All New York state school assessment tests for grades 3 to 8 were suspended for the rest of the school year, Board of Regents and state education officials announced Friday.

"It is most important that during the time of closure, schools are able to continue to focus their efforts toward local school and community needs, as they have been doing, and not be concerned about State assessments," a statement from state education officials said. "NYSED has applied for federal waivers for testing, accountability, and reporting requirements."

On Sunday, both Suffolk County and Nassau County officials announced that all public and private K-12 schools were ordered to close for two weeks amid a rapidly climbing number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

The suspension applies to the follow testing programs:

• Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Test
• Grades 3-8 Mathematics Test
• Grade 4 Elementary-Level Science Test
• Grade 8 Intermediate-Level Science Test
• English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) in Grades K-12;and
• Alternate Assessment (NYSAA) for students with severe cognitive disabilities in Grades 3-8 and high school

"It is a critical component of school emergency management, as it promotes the continuation of teaching and learning and prevents learning loss while schools are closed," the statement read. However, many considerations play a role in developing continuity of learning programs such as access and availability, type and quality of materials and the length of time that the various types of learning will require. We are working with districts now to receive and review their plans. We are incredibly grateful to the educators who are devoted to developing these plans in the most equitable way possible and who have provided resources for parents and children."

On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York will go under a stay-at-home order that goes into effect Sunday. As of Friday there were more than 7,100 positive cases of the virus in the state.