The Pennsylvania Department of Education today announced a local educator has been chosen to help the state department create questions for a new honors test at a three-day conference this week and a second conference in October.

Faye Lewis of Coaldale, retired mathematics department chairman in the Marple Newton School District, was chosen as one of 60 educators from throughout the state to take part in the effort.

The program is part of Gov. Dick Thornburgh’s comprehensive education reform plan called “An Agenda for Excellence in Pennsylvania Public Schools.” It is designed to encourage students to take a rigorous schedule of academic subjects, including foreign languages, science, math, English, social studies and the arts and humanities.