GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

City Comptroller John Liu announced today that he is launching audits of two of the Department of Education’s most ambitious technology programs developed under former Chancellor Joel Klein.

The comptroller’s office plans to examine the Innovation Zone, or iZone — a $50 million initiative the Department of Education is touting as a strategy to improve schools during budget-conscious times. Funded through a combination of Race to the Top winnings, private donations and $10 million in tax dollars, the iZone is paying for experiments in online learning, staffing, and school time in 80 schools this year.

Liu also plans to audit ARIS — the Achievement Reporting and Innovation System — an $81 million online data warehouse that debuted in 2008 and eventually overcame some of its early glitches. ARIS began as a contract with IBM, but soon became a project of Wireless Generation, a company that was recently purchased by News Corporation. The city plans to pilot a second phase of the database, known as ARIS Local, in some schools this spring.

Both projects have their skeptics and supporters, but it was mainly the former who attended Liu’s townhall meetings, where participants suggested that the comptroller investigate whether both of these programs were accomplishing their goals. (more…)