Principals of public schools were asked to consider giving math tests to kindergartners. This proposal has come after serious debates on the use if the standardized tests nationwide and the new tests could last up to 90 minutes and change assessments from little children to second-graders in the school system.

Still, some parents and educators see the new proposal for the math tests as a mechanizing education, but the Department of Education offered on Monday at least $400,000 for the new program which invites elementary schools to participate in. 65 principles and as many as 12,000 pupils may be part of the new education program.

Five testing systems will be available for the principals to choose from, as they include math and reading. The five testing systems will consist of workbook-like, multiple-choice assessments estimated to take kindergartners as much as 60 to 90 minutes per section.

Still, kindergartners will not do so much from the first try. Instead, they will only assess in literacy, through one-on-one conversations during 30 minutes of chats with the teachers who will write down their answers. The new tests will not affect pupils’grades, but they could make a better image of the children’s progress.

Randi Weingarten, president of the city-based United Federation of Teachers and its nationwide parent, the American Federation of Teachers, said that "Once the information is available, the potential exists for school administrators to use it to track students and make premature assessments."