[naviga:h3]Standardized tests will see changes[/naviga:h3]

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf is announcing changes to Pennsylvania’s standardized school tests that he says will lower the amount of time students spend taking the assessments.

Wolf said starting this school year, students in grades three through eight will spend on average 20 percent less time on statewide testing. Some sections of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests have been removed and others shortened.

Wolf made the announcement Monday. He said he’s responding to concerns from parents, teachers and students about the amount of time they must dedicate to standardized tests.

The PSSAs are administered in grades three through eight in English language arts and math. Science is tested for some grades.

Susquehanna Township School District Superintendent Tamara Willis said the current standardized testing system has “has resulted in a loss of creativity and innovation within our classrooms.”

[naviga:h3]Reburial will occur at reservation[/naviga:h3]

CARLISLE — Two boys who died while attending the government-run Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania about 135 years ago were returned to the Northern Arapaho tribe on Monday for reburial at their Wyoming reservation.

The hand over occurred less than a week after the crew began exhuming the remains of 15-year-old Little Chief, also known as Dickens Nor, and 14-year-old Horse, also called Horace Washington.

It’s unclear how they died, although infectious disease and harsh conditions caused other deaths at the school. More than 10,000 children were taught at the school. The Army disinterred the graves at the tribe’s request.