On Curriculum, Tracking
City Schools Taking Scientific Approach

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The Bloomberg administration announced two education initiatives last week that will closely monitor the academic progress of public school students.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: Questions priorities.

Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a plan to spend $60 million on creating a uniform science curriculum for kindergarten through 8th grade. Schools will be held accountable for how well their students perform on tests related to the new material.

Tracking Students

The city also will spend $80 million on a contract with IBM to create a computer system that will track every one of the 1.1 million students in the city's public schools. The computer tracking system, called Aris, or Achievement Reporting and Innovation System, will provide a wide array of information in an up-to-the-minute on-line format, beginning in September.

"Aris will give the Teachers, the Principals, and the parents of New York City the critical tools they need to really understand what students know - and don't know," said Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein in a statement.

The five-year contract will create a system that combines data about a child - such as gender, race and grade level - with the results of state exams and the city's interim tests, which will be administered every six weeks starting next school year.

Teachers will be able to track their classroom's progress, Principals will be able to look at the entire school, and parents will be able to access their children's statistics as well as overall school test scores.

UFT: Not Best Use

United Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said that the money might be better spent elsewhere. "You can lower a lot of class sizes with that money - or buy a lot of supplies," she said.

Mr. Klein insisted the money would be well-spent. "Armed with this information," he said, "our educators will be able to tailor instruction to their students' needs and parents will be able to get involved in their children's education like never before."

Some of the data may be used to evaluate Principals' performance and to determine if Teachers get tenure. Officials of the Principals' union, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, declined to comment on the new system.

Next year the city will also launch a new core science curriculum, with $30 million allocated for grades 3, 4 and 6 during the 2007 - 2008 school year and $30 million the following year for kindergarten and grades 2, 5, 7 and 8.

'That's Where Future Lies'

"The 21st Century economy will be driven by scientific advances," said Mr. Bloomberg, "and it's never too early to start learning some of the basic tools."

The money will be allocated for textbooks and supplies, as well as support services. Schools will be able to choose between a curriculum based on textbook-learning or an experiment-focused method.

The city will track students' progress through citywide science tests beginning next year for 3rd and 6th graders, which will be given in addition to the statewide tests. The following year, 5th and 7th graders will also start taking citywide tests.

Ms. Weingarten noted that two years ago, a UFT-survey found that 85 percent of Teachers spent less than two hours a week teaching science, due to time devoted to test preparation and administrative responsibilities.

'City Coming Around'

"A well-rounded curriculum has to include more than math and English," she said. "Science, social studies and the arts also are critical. It's great that the city has recognized that, at least for science."

Mr. Bloomberg said that the new curriculum was aimed at setting up students for the future. "This major new investment in science education will help prepare students not only for high school courses such as biology and chemistry," he said, "but also for exciting and successful careers in science."