For Immediate Release:
March 30, 2020

Contact:
Ben Vihstadt
Benjamin.Vihstadt@nh.gov
603-271-2121

CONCORD- Today, Governor Chris Sununu announced that he is suspending New Hampshire’s standardized testing requirements as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“I have informed the Federal Department of Education that standardized tests will not take place in New Hampshire this semester,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “While remote learning has gotten off to an incredible start, we must continue to have flexibility in our approach to education, and onerous standardized tests from Washington send the wrong message to New Hampshire families who are already working hard to adapt to this new, challenging environment.”

“When New Hampshire adopted the School Day SAT for our 11th grade assessment, the idea was to expand access to the SAT for low-income families,” said Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. “For the past several weeks, I have been working with College Board to find a way to preserve this access for our students who rely on the SAT as part of their college admissions process. Unfortunately, we were not able to craft a secure, remote way to administer the SAT to New Hampshire students this spring.”
The New Hampshire Department of Education will continue to work with College Board to create access for students wanting to take the SATs this summer or early fall. NH DOE will also work with all New Hampshire schools to develop options to help gauge student performance, and will continue to work with teachers, schools, and families to have access to assessment materials for remote instruction for all of our students.