By ANNA LIZ NICHOLS Associated Press/Report for America

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education has denied Michigan's request to waive standardized testing for the 2020-2021 school year.

The announcement that came late Tuesday means that in the next few weeks students must take the exams that the state Education Department has said take away from important time for teachers to catch up students on what they might have missed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state had hoped to substitute standardized testing with benchmark examinations to inform parents and teachers of areas in need of review.

But the federal Education Department did not grant the request made in January.

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