GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

A committee of 11 outside experts hired by the city gives a series of tests to New York school children. The experts insist that their tests are different because they measure growth of individual children on a specific set of skills, and tout their study as “the most successful attempt at scientific measurement in education.”

The results show that the schools are “inefficient” in educating the students, whose abilities vary greatly. The report calls for differentiation:

Only 40 percent of 4th graders performed at an “average” level on the standardized math tests. Furthermore, in all areas except speed, they compared poorly to students in other cities.

Sound familiar? Guess the year in the comments — and no Googling! We’ll post the answer next Wednesday. Complete article is after the jump…