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Will state officials soon allow New York City to return to paper-and-pencil standardized tests in grades 3-8?
The state Education Department isn’t ruling it out after more than half of New York City Council members signed a letter this week urging state officials to grant an analog option for state testing — just months after the state fully transitioned to online exams.
The request to waive the state’s computer-based testing requirement comes amid a broader push to limit technology in the classroom. City officials banned individual digital devices this school year for students in pre-K through second grade, with recommended screen time limits of 30 to 45 minutes in grades 3-8.
“A computer-based testing mandate creates pressures for additional screen exposure and technology practice even when teachers and school systems are trying to move instruction in the opposite direction,” City Council member Eric Dinowitz wrote in the letter to state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa. The letter was first reported by Gothamist.
The state Education Department appears to be taking the request seriously.
“The Department is reviewing Council Member Dinowitz’s request and will have additional information in the coming weeks,” spokesperson J.P. O’Hare wrote in an email.
The broader backlash to artificial intelligence and other ed tech tools has intensified debates about digital testing and whether it pressures schools to expose young students to more technology.
City Education Department officials have denied that state testing requirements played a role in the city’s device policy. But education leaders across the country have expressed concerns that students who don’t regularly use computers for schoolwork may be unprepared for digital state exams.
A city Education Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether the department supports returning to paper-and-pencil assessments or would request a waiver if one were available.
Allowing exemptions to New York’s digital assessment policy would represent a significant reversal for state officials who have spent years transitioning school districts to online exams. The state began experimenting with digital assessments a decade ago and fully phased in the requirement this past spring, with some exceptions for students with special accommodations.
The transition has been punctuated by technical glitches that have repeatedly disrupted the exams.
Some observers have questioned whether the shift to digital testing is affecting student performance, particularly after reading scores plunged last school year, though there is little evidence the transition was to blame.
State officials have argued that digital tests are more convenient, allow for faster scoring, and enable them to more precisely measure what students know through tests that adapt to students’ skill levels.
Dinowitz said he is encouraged that state officials are considering the council’s request. Parents and educators feel “inundated with screens and big tech in schools,” he told Chalkbeat on Friday.
Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
