Starting in 2007-08, students will also take Periodic Assessments throughout the school year in English Language Arts and math. Periodic Assessments are tools designed by educators to support student instruction. They provide timely and detailed information on students’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as their progress over time, to teachers, parents, and students. There are no stakes attached to the results for schools, principals, teachers, or students. 

Also, beginning in the 2007-08 school year, the Department of Education is introducing new tools that will provide teachers, principals, and parents with detailed information about students and schools:

Progress Reports will grade each school with an A, B, C, D, or F to help you understand how well your school is doing — and compare it to other, similar schools. To find the Progress Report for your school, please click here.

Surveys, launched in Spring 2007, gather information from the people who know most about how well our schools are serving the learning needs of students: teachers, parents, and students. Results from the surveys will be part of a school’s progress report grade. To find the Survey Report for your school, please click here.

Quality Reviews will provide more in-depth profiles of each school, based on 2-3-day visits by experienced educators who talk to parents, students, and staff, observe classrooms, and review how schools use information and set goals to improve learning for all students. To the Quality Review for your school, please go to Find a School and enter the school name. This will bring you to the school’s Web page. Click on “Statistics,” which is a link on the left side of the page, to find useful information about your school’s performance and quality.

ARIS (Achievement Reporting and Innovation System) is a first-of-its-kind data management system that allows parents and educators to see and analyze important information on students’ learning.

At Fall 2007 Parent-Teacher Conferences, schools will distribute informational materials about these tools to families. For more information about these materials, or to download copies, please click here.

The assessment and accountability programs and services are administered by the Office of Accountability, whose mission is to improve academic outcomes for all New York City public school students. We accomplish this by enabling principals, teachers, parents, and students to use evaluative and support tools, data, and research to accelerate learning.

Click here to learn how we are training educators to use these new tools.