New York City may be home to an estimated 800 languages but when it comes to the New York State Regents exams, the only one that counts is English. Next week New York students will take Regents exams in Spanish, French and Italian for the last time. Why? The better to save $700,000, of course. Thank goodness the city is getting ready to replace the tests with new ones to better grade teachers! more ›

This morning Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, along with the Mayor's office, decided to close the city's schools—the ninth time the schools have been closed for snow since 1978. The news made many a school kid happy, and not just for the obvious reason. See, today nearly 100,000 students were meant to take state-wide Regents exams in history, geometry, science, chemistry and physics. more ›

Because tougher state exams meant fewer city students were found proficient in math and English, Mayor Bloomberg has pledged $10 million to state test tutoring (video below). The money will be distributed to 532 schools where over two-thirds of students failed the tests last year, with schools getting between $6,000 and $65,000. But why give the money in the middle of the school year? According to Bloomberg, "New chancellor!" more ›

With all the brouhaha over Cathie Black and the Department of Education, it can be easy to forget that the DoE isn't the only education authority in New York, there is also the State Education Department (SED) which, among other things, has administered New York's Regents exams since 1865. And while that isn't likely to stop anytime soon, lots of things about the tests just might. Thanks to the yet another budget shortfall, school districts might actually have to pay for the standardized tests. more ›

Here comes another heartbreak from the DOE. According to a new study commissioned by the DOE, our kids' standardized tests may not be difficult enough. It found that high schoolers who pass the Regents English and math exams may not be prepared for college courses, and that standardized tests for third- through eighth-graders don't indicate whether or not students deserve to advance to the next grade. But, problem solved, because now the DOE is going to make the tests harder, which would be great in a perfect world. But here, that will most likely lead to lower graduation rates. Which will lead to more of this. more ›

A "top New York education official" tells today's Post that local education authorities don't want Linda Darling-Hammond, head of President-elect Obama's education-policy working group, to have a big role at the US Department of Education. The concern is that Hammond won't support Mayor Bloomberg and Joel Klein's reforms and that she opposes the state-required Regents exams, which students must pass in order to graduate (some schools are exempt). In a 2001 legal brief, Hammond said exams like "Regents exams are a limited measure of actual learning and performance, are prone to substantial error, and have limited predictive validity regarding students' abilities to accomplish other real-world tasks or to succeed in college." A Bush administration education official criticized Hammond as one of many who "don't like standards, don't like testing, don't like accountability," while high school students are more likely to favor her as longtime opponents of "taking tests up until July." more ›