Most NYC Council Members Want Paper State Exams as an Option for Elementary Students

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. 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 direc