On March 17, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) released a statement saying end-of-the-year assessments including the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, or CMAS, “will be paused for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year due to extensive school closures throughout Colorado” related to the spread of COVID-19.

“Students and educators need to feel a sense of stability and normalcy before state tests can be administered and produce valid results,” Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes said in the release.

The CDE will also pause the school and district state accountability systems, which communicate performance on state tests, this year.

“CDE intends to engage with the U.S. Department of Education to address implications, including those related to federal accountability, and will complete waiver documentation as necessary,” Anthes said in the release.

As for the PSAT and SAT, the CDE is collaborating with College Board to determine if the tests could still be administered, the release said. The CDE will provide further information when it is available. Individuals can access CDE information on COVID-19 at cde.state.co.us/safeschools.

On March 20, College Board, which also administers Advanced Placement (AP) tests allowing students to earn college credit, announced it will not cancel testing this year.

"To be fair to all students, some of whom have lost more instructional time than others, the exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March," the March 20 media release said. "Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they've worked this year to earn."

Students will be able to take the test on any device or send in a photo of hand-written work. The organization has digital tools in place and has specifically designed its questions to prevent cheating, the media release sad.

The scope of material that will be tested for each class, as well as testing dates, will be posted on the College Board's AP Central page.