The U.S. Department of Education has informed the Wyoming Department of Education that it should continue administering the state Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students -- or PAWS -- test for high school juniors next year.
The Wyoming Legislature earlier this year directed the state Education Department to discontinue the PAWS test for juniors and to use results from the ACT instead.
Lawmakers at Thursday's meeting of the Select Committee on Statewide Education Accountability in Torrington questioned what the federal government would do if the state refuses the test. They suggested the state may ask the federal government to reconsider.