INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The State Board of Education has agreed to extend ISTEP+ testing in response to weeks of frigid temperatures and heavy snowfalls that have forced repeated closures of many Indiana schools.

WISH-TV reports the board voted unanimously Thursday to approve extending the applied skills portion of the exam from March 3 until March 21. That testing had been scheduled to run from March 3 until March 12.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz had recommended the change after many Indiana schools closed for multiple days this winter because of heavy snows and the subzero readings. Ritz had said schools needed more time to prepare students for the crucial testing.

ISTEP+ exams are administered annually to third- through eighth-grade students and cover English, math, science and social studies.