Statewide exams given to third- through eighth-grade students in New York will no longer be timed, the State Education Department said on Wednesday, ending the call of “pencils down.”
The tests, given in English and math, have become a source of contention in recent years. Department officials said the move was meant to ease concerns raised by teachers, administrators and parents.
MaryEllen Elia, the state education commissioner, described the change at a legislative hearing in Albany on Wednesday. A memo outlining the plan was sent to district superintendents, principals and charter school leaders later in the day.
“This change will provide students further opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do by allowing them to work at their own pace,” Angelica Infante, a deputy education commissioner, and Peter Swerdzewski, an assistant commissioner, wrote.
Eva S. Moskowitz, founder of the Success Academy network of charter schools, said the change was extremely ill advised.
“I don’t even know how you administer a test like that,” said Ms. Moskowitz, whose schools have been praised for their high test scores while drawing criticism as overly harsh, even exclusionary. The purpose of assessments, she added, “is in a reasonable amount of time, to determine what a student knows and is able to do.”
Last year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, pushed to increase the role of test scores in teacher evaluations. Parents and the state teachers’ union resisted, encouraging families to boycott the tests altogether. In the end, 20 percent of the students in third through eighth grade eligible to take the tests sat them out.
Last month, a task force convened by Mr. Cuomo called for state tests not to be used in teacher evaluations until 2019. The state’s Board of Regents approved the move a few days later.
