(HARTFORD, CT) — Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the administration is taking two actions to help reduce the time Connecticut students spend taking standardized tests. In a letter to U.S. Department of Education (USED) Secretary Arne Duncan, the Governor asked for USED to consider how the number of high-stakes exams in Grade 11 could be reduced under existing federal law.

In the letter, the Governor writes, “I am eager to explore solutions for the students who may be our most over-tested: our eleventh graders.”

Under federal law, Connecticut must administer end-of-year tests to all students in Grades 3-8 and once in high school. As part of its transition to college and career-ready standards, Connecticut’s high school test was moved from Grade 10 to Grade 11. While administering the test in Grade 11 provides better information on a student’s learning in high school, it also adds to eleventh graders’ already crowded schedule of high-stakes tests. To explore what can be done under existing federal law, Governor Malloy will bring together a Connecticut working group, as well as confer with the U.S. Department of Education, to examine promising possibilities to lessen the test burden for Grade 11 students.

“Tests are essential tools that teachers and principals use to inform important decisions around a student learning and instruction. However, tests have the potential to sometimes be duplicative or outdated,” said Governor Malloy. “We must adapt with the changing times, and this approach will allow us to do that.”