Universal pre-K program pays off for de Blasio

Universal pre-K program pays off for de Blasio

Mayor de Blasio’s Pre-K For All program — which provides free pre-kindergarten services for the city’s 4-year-olds, appears to be paying off. New reports from the mayor’s office show children who attended Pre-K For All programs since the program launched in 2014 scored higher on standardized tests than students who did not.

“We’re able to say way more definitively than ever that Pre-K For All is working,” de Blasio said at a recent news conference. “It’s reaching deep into our communities.”

de Blasio is one of more than a dozen candidates vying for the Democratic Party nomination for president, and has touted Pre-K For All on the campaign trail.

Bronx charters tout high scores in recent tests

Students attending charter schools in the Bronx have leaped ahead in test scores.

This year, the roughly 30,000 students who attended borough charters scored higher than state averages by 12 percent in English language arts, and 15 percent in math, according to an organization representing charter schools. Black and Latino students both outperformed white students statewide.

The scores represent a closure in the achievement gap between public charters — which usually serve high-needs populations — and public schools across the state, according to officials.

Teachers union: Test scores are not reliable

Test results for students in third through eighth grade are in, and it’s caught the attention of education’s union of unions, the New York State United Teachers.

The union, which represents 600,000 educators from more than 1,200 local unions, said the standardized state tests are still flawed assessments of student achievement.

“While it is better that test scores increased slightly, we must not paper over the fact that the state’s standardized testing system — and the way it determines student proficiency — remains badly broken,” the teachers union said, in a statement. “Too many students are forced to take tests that are too long, and include questions that are not developmentally appropriate.”