The State Education Department has suspended a half-dozen state assessments — including the math and English language arts tests for grades 3-8 — for elementary and middle school students for the remainder of the school year because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Read the announcement from the Board of Regents »

Here is the list of tests that have been suspended:

• New York State Grades 3-8 English language arts test
• New York State Grades 3-8 Mathematics test
• New York State Grade 4 Elementary-Level science test
• New York State Grade 8 Intermediate-Level science test
• New York State English as a Second Language Achievement test in grades K-12
• New York State Alternate Assessment for students with severe cognitive disabilities in grades 3-8 and high school.

It was the right decision to make in these extraordinary times. Our students and families are already under enormous stress. Our focus in the coming weeks should be on how to enable our students’ continual learning, not on preparing them for tests.