New York City students take a citywide test at third, fifth, sixth and seventh grade.

M.S. 51, which is generally at or above the city average in the citywide tests, has gifted and talented programs.

Yesterday was the last day of summer school before the third-grade citywide tests are given again on Monday and Tuesday.

But she wondered aloud whether students should spend months preparing for the citywide multiple-choice test, in which they do not have to demonstrate writing skills.

So I asked my son, "What is the citywide test for?"

The process starts on April 20, when third graders are to take a citywide test in English language arts.

In a recent citywide test, 65.8 percent of the school's third and fifth graders scored at or above the national average.

The Board of Education last administered a multiple-choice citywide test for second graders in 1994.

Three-quarters of the school's students now read at or above grade level on the most recent citywide test.

(Performance on citywide tests, not given in the rest of the state, generally improved from the year before.)