According to a draft letter from PA Acting Education Secretary Noe Ortega to the federal government made public on February 23rd, PA will administer standardized tests this year, but give school districts the option to delay the assessments until fall. The letter comes one day after the Biden administration announced it would not allow states to waive federal standardized testing requirements. However, the U.S. Department of Education has stated could administer tests remotely, give shortened versions of their annual exams, or “extend the testing window to the greatest extent practicable.”

In the draft letter, Sec. Noriega said that PA will allow school districts and charter schools to “hold assessment materials until later in the calendar year (i.e., September 2021) to ensure that a larger, more representative sample of students participates in the assessments.” Also, according to the letter, the option would lie with individual school districts. The letter does not indicate that Pennsylvania will administer tests remotely or shorten them.

To read more from WHYY, click here or go to: https://whyy.org/articles/pa-says-it-will-allow-public-schools-to-postpone-standardized-tests-until-fall/

To read the draft letter, click here or go to: https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Assessment%20and%20Accountability/2021-02-22%20USDE%20Assessment%20Letter.pdf