Posted on 07/11/2002 12:10:09 PM PDT by aculeus
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina threw out the disappointing results of a statewide writing test for schoolchildren Thursday, in part because the exam wasn't written clearly enough.
The 9-1 vote by the state Board of Education will ensure that teachers and schools are not penalized for the bad marks. The state has the authority to clean house at schools that get low ratings.
The test was given to more than 200,000 fourth-graders and seventh-graders.
Only 47 percent of fourth-graders passed the single-essay test, down from 69 percent the previous year; 63 percent of seventh-graders received passing scores, a decline of 10 percentage points.
The drop was attributed to poor wording of the essay question for the fourth-graders and an increase in the amount of time given to the youngsters.
Some education officials told the board that the question that asked pupils to "write about a time you had a great day at school" may have prompted them to write a list activities rather than an essay.
The extra time may have led them to add sentences to the end of their essays after they found they had remaining time, said Lou Fabrizio, head of testing for the state Department of Public Instruction.
Notwithstanding, ANY adult purporting to be an 'educator' (or any similar term), who A) cannot solve this trivial problem and B) marks the correct answer as incorrect, is a functional illiterate and a fraud by definition, and should be summarily dismissed.
Well, I can dream, can't I? (g!)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.