INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Indiana Schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz is asking the State Board of Education to hold a special meeting on concerns about the longer time needed to complete Indiana's new statewide test.

Department of Education spokesman Daniel Altman says Ritz sent a letter Sunday to board members requesting a meeting within a week.

He says Ritz wants the board to explore ways “to ease testing stress.''

About 450,000 students in grades 3 through 8 will take the revised ISTEP+ test this spring to assess their mastery of Indiana's new math and English benchmarks.

Department of Education data show the total time for administering that test will more than double for all grades, topping out at 12 hours, 30 minutes for third-graders.

Some teachers worry young students won't have the stamina to finish.