The New York State Board of Regents and state Education Department announced Friday, March 20, that the elementary- and intermediate-level state assessments for Grades 3-8 have been suspended for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

“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. NYSED has applied for federal waivers for testing, accountability and reporting requirements,” Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa and Interim State Education Commissioner Shannon Tahoe said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that states may cancel any scheduled standardized tests for this school year.

This suspension applies to the following New York state testing programs:

• 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 (NYSESLAT) in Grades K-12; and
• New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA) for students with severe cognitive disabilities in Grades 3-8 and high school.

The state has not issued any guidance on end-of-June Regents exams and The College Board’s Advanced Placement exams.