DETROIT (AP) - Education officials say students will be spending less time taking the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, this spring.
Michigan Department of Education spokeswoman Jan Ellis tells the Detroit Free Press that students will spend no more than four to eight hours total on the test, down from seven to 16 hours last year. The change came after complaints about the new exam taking too long, with reports of students being exhausted and school staff being overwhelmed.
The Education Department reduced the number of tests high school students are required to take in addition to the college entrance exam from four to two. In grades three to eight, the state will include a performance task for English language arts only in grades five and eight.
