Talk of testing dominated the news this week. Whether it was the mayor’s new plan to test kindergarten, first, and second grade students or the results of the SAT exam, the testing debates...

AFT and UFTpresident Randi Weingarten issued a strong denunciation of yesterday's K-2 standardized testing proposal, saying (in part) "There's a right place and a wrong place for testing, and this...

Progress-report guru James Liebman made front-page news today with an email proposal to bring standardized testing to the kindergarten classroom. These test scores, the DOE says, wouldn't affect...

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's office today released survey results on their efforts to reach Family Advocates during the week of August 12 to 15. Guess what? They very nearly struck out, with...

Chancellor Joel Klein has announced a new pilot program in 10 high-need grade schools to improve reading education, based on E.D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge curriculum (for reference, see his popular...

The State and the City finally released the 2007 high school graduation rate today, and the news is both heartening and discouraging, on more than a few counts. First, the good news: The overall...

Interesting to see how the grad-rate report is presented by local media. Facts are facts, but how they're spun reflects how they're seen. For starters, the Post notes the upward trend-- but sets...

In the end of June, we started gathering questions for the DOE on a wide range of subjects. It took a month to set up the interview, but on July 31st, we spoke with DOE administrators about gifted...

Citing competition as the key to success, Mayor Bloomberg says that pressure from charter schools force traditional public schools to improve. But advocates like Leonie Haimson of Class Size...

As parents and students begin gearing up for the new school year, the news this week was dominated by the standard – yet colossal and complicated – contemporary education debates, including charter...

The DOEhas updated its pre-K registers and says there are half- and full-day spots open at some city schools. Have a look at their updated directory (PDF) to see what's available; registration...

Looks like Washington, D.C. schools head Michelle Rhee is borrowing another page from her mentor's playbook; see this storyfor her proposal, modeled on Klein's prototype, that students at 14...

The good news, from the DOE and the State, is that crime in the city's schools is on the wane: Of 25 city schools described as persistently dangerous by the State last year, 15 were removed from...

Families who applied for pre-K seats in the second application round should have news by the end of this week; letters went out by mail yesterday afternoon, according to an email from the DOE's...

In a signature transposition of business practice into the education environment, the Klein administration at the DOE has installed a range of mechanisms to pay people -- teachers, principals, and...

It's safe bet that most readers saw yesterday's New York Times magazine cover story, detailing the vast educational experiment underway in New Orleans. In a similar vein, today at noon, Mayor...

A number of parents have been wondering whether others in the city have heard any placement news on their child's round II pre-K application. DOE said they'd let folks know by now (mid-August),...

We've heard reports from parents across the city that some g+t programs in local schools have been shuttered for the coming school year -- for a range of reasons, including low enrollment and g+t...

Among the 1.1 million schoolchildren in NYC public schools, 181,000 students with special needs often face unique, daunting, and systemic challenges, and parents of special-needs kids often feel...

On Tuesday August 12 from 5pm to 8pm, State Senator Martin Connor and members of the State Democratic School Governance Task Force will convene at Brooklyn's Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, to...

Families in downtown Brooklyn have long lobbied DOE for new middle schools, especially as local elementaries revive (pace, PS 8's new expansionplans) and the waterfront neighborhoods host new (and...

District 2, which encompasses some of Manhattan's prime development turf, has chronically overcrowded elementary schools. Middle schools, often housed on the top floors of primary schools, add to...

Last week, Insideschools spoke with Anna Commitante (head of DOE G+T), Elizabeth Sciabarra (OSEPO head) and Marty Barr (OSEPO's elementary-schools head) about gifted and talented programs,...

Remember about a month ago, when we asked you for questions you'd like answered by the DOE? Well, the wheels grind slowly, even in midsummer, but grind they do: This afternoon, we're speaking with...

by Liz Willen There's no way of getting around the constant search for schools in New York City -- from getting into pre-kindergarten (far more complicated than necessary this year) to finding a...