Dive Brief:

• Last week, New York Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced to the state board of education that this year's round of state tests would be somewhat shorter than last year's.
• The move was in response to a litany of comments that the tests were too long for students to successfully complete and cut into instructional time.
• The state board also approved a change to the state's embattled teacher evaluation system that will allow teachers to appeal poor ratings.

Dive Insight:

The shifts mark a notable course change on the part of the state and the state's education leaders. One other major shift is that the state will release all of the test questions and review the state's Common Core state standards. The first has been a point of contention for years, in New York and elsewhere; lawmakers and test writers have been loath to release the questions early, for a variety of reasons.

Still, critics of the state's approach say they should go further towards rolling back high stakes accountability measures and the state's testing focus.