Jessica Bakeman is reporting at Capital New York the state Education Department will award a $44 million contract for the development of state exams to Questar Assessment, Inc., a Minneapolis-based testing company. Questar will replace the London-based education-publishing giant Pearson. The contract with Questar will run for five years and include an option for computer-based tests. The agreement requires that teachers be part of the test-development process. Questar won the contract through a competitive bid. Four companies submitted proposals to develop the tests, according to the department. The agreement with Questar must be approved by the attorney general and comptroller. Read the full story at Capital New York.