Scholars live in a world where they are surrounded by media and need to be technologically literate. At Classical, a top NYC Charter School, part of our mission is to empower scholars to succeed in the real world. As educators, we have the responsibility to prepare our scholars for the challenge by providing them with many opportunities to access technology throughout the day. While this technological introduction has always been a part of our curriculum, as of Spring 2024, New York State Tests started to be taken in various grades online. This year, 2026, all grades took the New York State Tests online. To create the excellent results on State Tests that Classical is known for, Classical created a thoughtful rollout process that allows for scholars to grow in their familiarity with technology while building on the skills that they have learned already in Math and ELA.
Building Computer Literacy
While many of our scholars have experienced technology through access to their phones, they have not been exposed to the computer as a tool to help them learn and work. Because of that, we provide basic typing lessons during our Grammar blocks so that scholars are able, prior to assessments, to know the functions of the computer and to increase the speed in which they can type. In addition, in our Reading and Writing curriculums, we include numerous opportunities for scholars to complete their work online and do independent research.
Creating a Phased Schedule
To prepare for the tests themselves, scholars begin each year by working on paper in Math and ELA classes four days a week and on computers one day a week. Post the first unit test, scholars begin to have class on computers between two and three days a week, and, by the first cumulative assessment in November, scholars are working on computers five days a week. This allows these scholars to have between four and five months to prepare for the State Test on computers.
Balancing Skills
Our reason for this phased rollout is that we are committed to giving scholars transferable skills in all subjects, but particularly in Reading and Math. That means that every text in ELA must have annotations completed on paper that recognize both the important central ideas and relevant details and every problem has a plan associated with it. Throughout the introduction of technology, teachers push scholars to show their work on paper so that it is observable and so that scholars build independence so that they can create their own resources to succeed in our standards-based curriculum and beyond.
Finishing Successfully
This careful planning of technological skills into our academic culture has led to fabulous results. If you are looking for your scholar to be successful in a changing world and to be able to practice skills on paper and on computers in a top NYC Charter School, please apply here.