Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 02/13/2009 2:29:39 PM PST by gallaxyglue
Jaime Oppenheimer/The Wichita Eagle East High School junior Geoffrey Stanford discovered a word usage error on the state writing assessment last week. The state is sending out a corrected version of the test. Geoffrey Stanford's teachers always tell him to read tests carefully.
Every sentence. Every word. Slow down. Make sure you understand what's being asked, and then proceed.
So while taking his state writing test last week, the East High junior saw something that didn't make sense: The word "emission" -- as in "the emission of greenhouse gases" -- was spelled "omission."
"I thought, 'Surely they're not talking about leaving out carbon dioxide altogether.' It just didn't make sense," said Stanford, 17. "It had to be a mistake."
It was.
Stanford, a linebacker and International Baccalaureate student, alerted English teacher Jennifer Fry, who alerted the district test coordinator, who alerted state education officials, who were, as you might imagine, embarrassed.
"You hate that sort of thing to happen, but it happens," said Karla Denny, spokeswoman for the State Department of Education, which created the test. "We're human."
This week, the department e-mailed test coordinators across the state to alert them to the error and provide a corrected version of the writing prompt.
Denny said the test was developed by a committee of more than 30 teachers from across the state. The five questions -- writing prompts from which students must craft persuasive essays -- were written almost two years ago and tested in 50 high schools last spring.
No one before Stanford had reported the error, Denny said.
"It amazes me. This went through all the channels, and the pilot project, and nobody caught it," said Denny, a former English teacher.
"I think it's one of those things where the people writing the test were so close to it, they probably just read over it. It looked right."
Fry, the IB English teacher, said she was disappointed to see an error on the state test, but not surprised one of her students caught it.
"They're perceptive readers," she said.
Stanford, who prefers math to literature and plans to study mechanical engineering or sports medicine, said he doesn't consider himself a fabulous proofreader.
"But when I edit my own papers, I'm a stickler for grammar and vocabulary and the correct use of words," he said. "It annoys me when I see mistakes."
He and Fry shared a laugh over the test error. It reminded them of a book the class read recently -- Thomas C. Foster's "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" -- in which Foster proclaims, "Irony trumps everything."
"What is this," Stanford said, "if not ironic?"
Reach Suzanne Perez Tobias at 316-268-6567 or stobias@wichitaeagle.com.
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Comments: 374 Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first
Nexxsound wrote on 2/13/2009 4:20:44 PM: Axel, I did not use vulgarity in my posts and they still removed them. Like Negotiator wrote: The truth hurts.
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PInkPerfume wrote on 2/13/2009 4:20:23 PM: And before someone corrects me, I already see the misspelled word in my last post.
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littleboodamommy wrote on 2/13/2009 4:19:15 PM: carolinavettegirl, you may want to check your spelling, or even a dictionary. The word EMBARRASSED is spelled correctly in the article. Just thought you would appreciate the heads up.
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PInkPerfume wrote on 2/13/2009 4:18:49 PM: Remember how eloquently the letters were that were written during the Civil War? Now look at the way Americans write and speak. I am not meaning to put them (us) down, but it is an obvious observation. I do NOT see how this got past so many people . . .maybe several educators need to get their, "head in the game". I do understand that people make mistakes, and unfortunetly this is news (if you knew what went into writing these tests, you would understand how big this is. I was a teacher and a state test reader for many years. However, it is unfortunate that we have to publicize our ignorance, but hey that is news! As unfortunate as it is. . .if it happens, someone is going to find out and report about it.
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larry_from_upstairs wrote on 2/13/2009 4:18:17 PM: this young man is proof that all of the youth haven't gone mad, his parents should be proud!
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rainbowsweetcupcake wrote on 2/13/2009 4:17:56 PM: he's kinda cute =] but i dont understand how this makes news =/ slim pickin's i guess
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Axel100 wrote on 2/13/2009 4:17:54 PM: I spent a little time reading some of the comments and I am astonished by some of the remarks that were posted on this blog. Also, so many of the comments were removed, which is alarming because it shows that people need to use vulgarity in order to express their opinions. Now that would be a problem well worth to write about – the use of profanity in this Country. As citizens, there are many things that we cannot choose, such as participating in wars...However we can choose the way we communicate our disappointments and beliefs. If most of you are parents, you are truly a poor example of “Leading by example”! You should reevaluate the way your express your feelings on the Internet because if your kids were to read your blog, they would be ashamed of you!
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mmagliaro wrote on 2/13/2009 4:17:21 PM: The kid did the right thing.
The reason this is so sad is that you know darn well this happened because whoever wrote the test questions is an idiot who doesn't know what an "emission" is. They relied on computerized spelling and grammar checkers. That's why newspapers and books have an increasing and unacceptable number of spelling and grammar mistakes.
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cherieb88 wrote on 2/13/2009 4:15:25 PM: Carolinavettegirl: embarrassed would acutally be the correct way to spell it, so there isn't an error in the article's spelling of the word.
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donuan wrote on 2/13/2009 4:13:56 PM: This is OUTRAGEOUS! (or outragious for public school teachers) What the heck is a question on "greenhouse gases" doing on a state exam? Indoctrination, that's what. I'll bet the question wasn't regarding the fact that over 90% of greenhouse gases is nothing but natural water vapor! That's what I find most disturbing (or disterbing) about this story.
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What kind of state writing assignment deals with “greenhouse gases”
More indoctrination.
I suspect others caught it but understood what it was supposed to be. I can’t see how I would miss it.
Students, educators and school administrators can all play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Here is a directory of some education and action planning resources to help you...
Maybe the subject was just too sacred to allow the error.
He he. My thoughts exactly. Freudian slip. Omission alright - the information is not true. Many educators are stupid. I see spelling errors all the time in schools - on blackboards, posters, etc. It’s one thing when a science teacher goofs but when it’s the language arts teacher... oy.
Or like radio static. Most of the time I read “greenhouse gasses†or “global warring†in an article it’s usually followed by man-made, US is bad, business is evil, blah blah blah etc. Could be even the left is becoming tired of the whole scam.
At least they didn’t spell potato with an e.
More than 30 teachers designed the test and failed to catch the error. I can understand most of the students not catching it or just ignoring it. If they are normal, they probably saw "greenhouse gasses" and realized there was nothing else in the question that mattered. There is a standard answer that has been drilled into their heads since they were in kindergarten. They will regurgitate it without thinking by the time they are in high school
In the past five years, CO2 emissions have continued to rise, and atmospheric CO2 is higher than ever. And yet temperatures are down, five years in a row. How can a student be taught to think for himself if he has to believe that Global Warming is real in the face of such evidence?
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