Bethany Bump is reporting at Capitol Confidential the New York State Education Department Wed., Jun. 1, released more questions than ever before from the grades three through eight state English and math tests. This is also the first time the information has been made available this soon following the exams. The material was provided in response to long-held concerns over the usefulness of state assessments. Three-quarters of the test questions are now available online at EngageNY [dot] org. And instructional reports providing evidence of how students performed on the 2016 tests will be made available to districts and schools by the end of the week. High Achievement New York, a pro-Common Core group that supports state testing, said the department’s action creates an opportunity for advocates and critics to come to the table and work to improve state exams. Testing opponents have long argued that the state assessments lose their usefulness when the questions and results do not come out soon enough for districts to identify student progress and learning gaps. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.