You mean I have to spel gud? Update

Yesterday, the State of Florida released the results of the state’s mandatory writing test for fourth, eighth and tenth graders.  The scores were so shocking that the State Board of Education has called an emergency meeting for 10:30 this morning.

The exams, administered in February, gave the students 45 minutes to write an essay.  The grading is on a scale of 1 to 6 and this year a score of 4 was deemed acceptable.  In prior years a score of 3.5 was acceptable.  Of this year’s fourth graders, only 27% received an acceptable score, and the results weren’t much better for the eighth graders or the tenth graders.

We may have located the problem, however.

The state made the scoring tougher this year, demanding students use correct spelling and grammar and do a better job presenting logical arguments backed up with relevant details. [emphasis supplied]

Who would have thought you needed those skills to write an essay?

Update:

This afternoon, the Florida Board of Education “took the bull by the horns” and decided to lower the grade necessary to be deemed “acceptable”.  Now, thousands of Florida students who couldn’t spell or construct a sentence yesterday, do not need to worry.  They now have acceptable skills.

My favorite quote though was from a mother whose son failed initially.

He was, as was I, extremely nervous because of a lack of preparation.

On whose part?

No word yet on whether this coddled child is now deemed “acceptable”.

Forget the mother, she is hopeless.

 

 

 

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

10 Comments

  1. Murphy on May 15, 2012 at 8:56 am

    It’s Florida, we new they couldn’t count, now we know they can’t spell either.



  2. Dimsdale on May 15, 2012 at 11:23 am

    Oh, the stories I could tell about “college level” students….



  3. PatRiot on May 15, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    A goverment that promotes mediocrity is up to no good.



  4. PatRiot on May 15, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    These guys didn’t, or maybe couldn’t, read? “No child left behind” or “Race to the top” policies.
    They are just?acting on the “spirit” of the titles.



  5. winnie on May 16, 2012 at 6:41 am

    I hate to be a nitpick, but when my 16 year old spells something wrong, I correct her immediately.? Something teachers should be doing on a regular basis when they (presumably) read and correct students’ papers.? But gosh, we can’t hurt anyone’s feelings or wound a student’s self-esteem by correcting them.? We can’t have one student doing well and another who doesn’t study or prepare do poorly because it wouldn’t be fair.
    Why in God’s name do we even have these standardized tests when we clearly have low to no standards?? What, pray tell, are we testing?? Is this a game of educational limbo — how low *can* we go?? De and pressing.



  6. JBS on May 16, 2012 at 11:05 am

    This is the result of liberal control of education and unions. Mediocrity is the norm; to excel is to be suspect.
    Teachers present a required curriculum; students take standardized tests to demonstrate their level of “mastering” the curriculum. It follows that if students are not learning the presented curriculum, the curriculum should be modified to insure student learning.
    Not so fast!In the liberal “everyone is a winner” and therefore competent world view, then breaking down the curriculum for some, ahem, slower learners, implies that there are some winners and some who aren’t as, err, adept. Phew, some risky statements, those!
    I would point out that school, especially middle school on up, is boring to many students, actually, most students. School is to be endured and excelling opens one to scrutiny. It is best to stay in the middle. There are levels to some courses in some schools; general, college and advanced, but they are the exceptions. Remedial is passe, taking the course over is de rigueur, as in fashionable. Summer school is another (ugh!) alternative.
    It is the liberal approach to education that has brought us to where “acceptable” is mediocre and thus,…



  7. RoBrDona on May 16, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    Yay! Everyone gets an individual trophy at the spelling bee!? But wait – some trophies are more expensive than others – $17k in Hartford (50% graduation rate), vs. $9k in Avon (98% graduation rate).? Shall we guess which trophy is the small tarnished one?



  8. andy@american on May 16, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    When I was in grade school (All Hallows Catholic School), Sister Helen made us diagram sentences for months and months. I hated it but it was one of the best things I was ever taught as well as my classmates.? Id wonder if the children even know what a sentence diagram even is? Or their teachers for that matter.?I remember things I was taught 30 years ago because I was actually helped and taught and taught until you GOT what was being taught. You had to learn to actually?advance and nobody was left to fall through the cracks.



    • JBS on May 16, 2012 at 8:35 pm

      Now they just get an acceptable score and advance to the next grade.
      If a student intends to do well, that’s got to count for something. Right?



  9. PatRiot on May 18, 2012 at 11:21 pm

    Yes – the mother is hopeless.? She is not aware of her role on her child’s?educational team.?
    Doesn’t have a clue that – if you don’t have the expertise – go find an expert.?
    The case is further embarassment because the (supposed) experts are shirking their responsibility.



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