Long Island Students New English Exam Tests

Despite a few jittery stomachs, Long Island schoolchildren by the thousands began taking new state English tests yesterday under a nationwide push for universal assessment.

Over the next three weeks, 210,000 area students are slated to answer multiple-choice and essay questions designed to measure skills in reading, writing, grammar and more. Math tests are coming up in March.

The numbers are triple those tested in the past and required by the federal No Child Left Behind law that is expanding annual assessments in reading and math throughout grades 3-8. Only grades 4 and 8 were tested in prior years.

While some students and their parents suffered jangled nerves yesterday, many youngsters seemed to take the new tests in stride after months of practice exams and other preparation.

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