INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana superintendents are blasting a state panel for its slow progress in choosing a replacement for the ISTEP student test, saying more delays will put students at risk.

A letter released Wednesday by 24 southern Indiana superintendents says that if the panel chaired by a Gov. Mike Pence appointee fails to act, students will “continue to be pawns of a legislative agenda that does not value the best practices of instruction and assessment.”

The Indianapolis Star reports that the pushback comes as top panel members have said Indiana will likely delay any changes until after spring 2018, missing the initial deadline for the ISTEP replacement to be in place. The original timeline called for the new test by the 2017-18 school year.