Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023.Students in elementary and middle schools across New York City will spend several hours a day learning through computer programs as part of a “sprint” to boost math and reading scores ahead of state tests this spring.
Education department officials confirmed they’re encouraging “an acceleration sprint” by using programs called Zearn, iReady and Amira. But they said the software is optional, and superintendents can choose how to use the programs. “Our students need research-based supports and interventions with fidelity now,” wrote Harry Sherman, the district’s superintendent, in an email to principals on Monday.
And in order to make time for the screen-based interventions, students in some cases are taken out of social studies and science lessons, according to a Bronx principal who declined to be named because he feared losing his job for speaking publicly on the policy. “We must intensify our academic focus and supports in response to all of the instructional time lost during the pandemic,” Brownstein said.
Many schools have for years used versions of these programs to gauge students’ progress. But administrators said this is the first time schools have been required to use them for instruction.
Classroom teachers can tell you how much screen time is wasted time, bad for eyes/brains + socialization. Reporters could delve into the misguided use of high-stakes standardized testing to understand what pushes non-educator politicians to keep trying ineffective shortcuts.
Many studies confirm cramming is just a short-term fix. See, e.g., “These results provide evidence that test-focused instruction or `cramming' raises contemporaneous performance, but a large portion of these gains fade-out.” c: ByJessicaGould NYCSchools
Screens are the bane of my kids with ADHD. There's also reason most silicon- valley types prefer their children learn with paper and pencil. This will end badly, except for the companies providing the software
Because apparently it worked so well during the pandemic
Some parents and educators say they’re disappointed to see students sent back to screens when the lack of teacher presence during virtual learning appeared to slow academic progress in the first place.