Summer Test-Prep Programs Are the...[Insert Superlative]

It was easy to forget that school was out for the summer at a recent visit to JHS 292, a middle school in East New York. With multiple fans blowing warm air to cool off a warmer classroom, about two dozen serious students ran through math and English problems.

The focus on that particular day was grammar. Students racked their brains to figure out what the words comparative and  superlative meant.

They are among more than 4,000 students participating in DREAM, a test-prep program offered free of cost to promising low-income students. The 22-month program, as well as a shorter summer intensive course, are part of an effort by the Department of Education to prepare students for the test that determines admission to eight specialized high schools in New York City. 

To do well on the test in October, students will have to master grammar, a topic that isn’t taught in most seventh grade classrooms,  according to Tracy Ellis, who was teaching the grammar lesson. 

“They'll know and identify what sounds wrong, but they're not familiar with the terms,” she said after she wrapped up her lesson for the day. “They're not familiar with how to go about correcting it."

Yeniel Rivera, a rising eighth grader who plans to take the test in a few months, agreed.

“Everything I’ve learned during DREAM is very, extremely new to me,” he said.