City students will soon get some extra help when it comes to practicing for state exams. The Department of Education announced Wednesday that it is starting a new computer program that will help students get better scores by giving them practice reading and math tests.
The results will then be analyzed to target where individuals need extra help.
"If you don't know the difference between fact and opinion, you'll never be a good reader,” said School Chancellor Joel Klein. “And we're missing the years when those skills are taught. What this is are effective diagnostic tools to enable our educators to do their work."
“This gives much more specificity from what I've seen for far, than what we've had in the past,” said Elmer Myers, a Bronx school principal. “We'll be able to take that information, sit down as a professional development team, and design ways we can improve instruction in a classroom."
United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten opposes the testing, saying it will translate into teachers spending less time on actual teaching.
