>
States ready tests for kindergarten
New York and New Jersey are preparing to administer mandatory school-readiness tests to children as young as 4 years old in an effort to win millions of dollars from the federal government.
The states submitted applications this week for the newest round of federal Race to the Top money, the Obama administration’s signature education program. The competition gives more weight to bidders that perform wide-ranging assessments of children in the first few months of kindergarten.
In New York, they would gauge children’s language, math, science and literacy skills, as well as emotional and physical development, and general knowledge.
The results would provide a baseline measure of each student’s skill level when he or she enters the school system, according to a proposal the Board of Regents approved this week. The test results, however, wouldn’t force students into special education classes or block them from school, officials said. (Fleisher, The Wall Street Journal)
