New York Parents Delay Formal Schooling for Kindergartners

A growing community of like-minded parents are opting to enrich rather than formally educate their not-yet-school-age children (6 is the age that New York City law requires parents to register their children as home-schooled). New York Times, October 15, 2008

More New York Schools Get A's

The number of schools receiving A’s under New York’s much-contested grading system increased significantly this year from last in what Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said was a clear sign of success and evidence that his signature accountability program was spurring improvement at schools across the city. The New York Times, September 16, 2008

"10 City Schools to Focus Reading Skills on Content" (NYTimes)

A recently announced pilot program is expected to overhaul the way children in 10 city schools are taught to read. The pilot program, which will involve about 1,000 children, represents a shift from the Bloomberg administration’s longstanding approach to teaching children to read, known as “balanced literacy.” Under that approach, children are encouraged to select books that interest them, at their own reading levels, from classroom libraries. The theory behind the approach is that it is more important to ensure that young children are truly engaged by books than to dictate that everyone read the same thing.

"A Plan to Test the City’s Youngest Pupils" (NYTimes)

The Bloomberg administration, which has made accountability the watchword of its overhaul of public education, is asking elementary school principals across the city to give standardized tests in English and math to children as young as kindergartners. The New York Times, August 26, 2008