INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A spokesman for the Indiana Department of Education is responding to Gov. Mike Pence's call for shorter ISTEP+ exams, saying the longer testing-time arose from Indiana's new academic standards.

Department spokesman Daniel Altman says Pence last year called for “uncommonly high standards'' when the State Board of Education drafted new state standards to replace the national Common Core standards.

Altman says Indiana's new ISTEP+ test is more rigorous as a result of the state's tougher standards and therefore it takes more time for students to complete it.

DOE data show the total time for administering the new ISTEP+ test will more than double for all grades, from about five hours to up to 12 hours.