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The youngest students in city schools will sit down for their first mandatory test between now and December 1st.

To comply with a longstanding state law, the Department of Education has told all pre-kindergarten programs receiving public funding that students need to be screened for developmental delays.

But some teachers and program directors are concerned, and anti-testing advocates agree.

"You are going to get so many false positives here," said Martha Foote of Time Out From Testing. "You are going to have kids who are just refusing to do these tasks and won't be able to do them as their supposed to according to this assessment, simply because they are fearful. They may be uncomfortable, they may be hungry."

Each student will sit individually with a teacher to take the 20-minute screening test, where they do activities, like make a block tower.

On Monday, pre-K teachers spent all day in training sessions, learning about the test. They said they were concerned about the accuracy of the assessment and the time taken away from the classroom.

A preschool director, who wished to remain anonymous, wrote in an email to parents that one of her biggest concerns was how the data will be used, saying "The results will be collected and maintained, and it is not clear how they will be used. . . I. . . do not feel that the preferred method of accountability - standardized testing - is appropriate in early childhood education."

Experts familiar with the test say it's a good tool, but only if used carefully.

"They have chosen a test called the EZ, the early screening inventory, and this is probably the best of its kind," explained Tovah Klein, director of the Barnard Center for Toddler Development. "It has been well researched, well validated. But again, you have to ensure that you have child development people giving this test, that they have been well trained to give the test and that the information is used appropriately."

A Department of Education spokesperson says the data will not be used to track students or judge educators.

"It will be used for early detection of developmental delays, and for no other purpose," said DOE Spokesman William Havemann in a statement. "It will not go in a student's permanent record, and will be used only in pre-kindergarten."

If students' results raise red flags, parents can sign off on more testing. But even experts who approve of the screening, caution it should only be considered in the context of everything else known about a child.

"It is only one piece of the puzzle that we put together and that is really what the important thing is," said early childhood special education expert Barbara Schwartz.

Although schools are required to give the test, the DOE says if parents are concerned, they can opt out.