INDIANAPOLIS (AP): A committee that will study how Indiana should go about replacing the troubled ISTEP exam has held its first meeting at the Statehouse.

The 23-member study panel heard testimony from experts during a three-hour hearing Tuesday, but is a long ways away from making formal recommendations to lawmakers.

University of Kansas testing expert Marianne Perie told the committee that educators will need at least two years to prepare a well thought-out test.

The committee faces a tight deadline to come up with a replacement for the exam. The ISTEP will be repealed in July 2017 under a bill Gov. Mike Pence signed into law in March.

The GOP-controlled Legislature wants to reduce the cost of test and the amount of time students spend taking it.