Results tagged “testing”

Even though the state has required developmental screening for pre-K students for years, parents are confused as to why the city has just begun to enforce it. Developmental screening for subsidized and public preschool programs is supposed to identify children who may need extra help, but parents and teachers think the tests come too early. "I don't think the test can give an accurate picture of where a child is," teacher Crystal Salas told the Daily News. The test requires toddlers to play with blocks, draw pictures and identify shapes and colors. Can't they just give the kids the marshmallow test and call it a day?

This is the funnest thing to happen to boring old milk since the crazy straw! The Coca-Cola Company just launched a new carbonated milk drink called Vio "Vibrancy Drink," and New Yorkers are the first consumers in the world to pour the product into their discerning mouth holes! Developed in their Atlanta laboratory, the beverage requires no refrigeration and comes in four "natural" flavors: peach mango, berry, citrus, and tropical colada. According to the Post, it's being sold in delis around NYC for about $2.50 per 8oz aluminium bottle, and each bottle has 26 grams of sugar. The company promises that Vio is "a refreshing sensory experience" that contains just "a hint of rBGH-free skim milk" and tastes "like a birthday party for a polar bear." And a reviewer for BevNET.com, a drink industry research site, says the Peach Mango Vio is "slightly reminiscent of a lassi drink. However, what starts out seeming not so sweet turns almost overwhelming by the time you are half way through the bottle." Which makes sense, because polar bear birthday parties can get a little overwhelming. Have you tried this exciting new carbonated milk product yet, and if so, how refreshing was your sensory experience?

Two readers have e-mailed us with reports of strange, pretty lights over Brooklyn or Queens last night. Here's an account of one sighting:

I saw something weird in the sky last night, and a bunch of other people did, too. Disclaimer: I am NOT a U.F.O. person, nor do I think that's what I saw. I'm just very curious to figure out what exactly it was. I'm sure there's a scientific explanation of some kind.

Continue reading "Mysterious "Northern Lights" Spotted Over NYC Last Night"

Hey there fellow F train straphangers, good news is rolling into a station near you sometime soon. Control Geek has a report from this morning: "I was waiting for the F subway at 15th Street/Prospect Park Brooklyn this morning and a brand new train came in! Apparently they were testing it, it had the automated announcements and everything. To keep people from boarding, they were opening the doors on the wrong side." Lost City also spotted the test trains (and their "folding, Paris-Metro-like seats") a few weeks ago. Now that the F has caught up and ditched the yellow, orange and brown color scheme...is it time to work on the seatless subways of the future?