Today is the first day of the NY State ELA exams in grades 3-8. As in past years, I am reaching out to students, parents, and teachers to let us know if there are confusing or ambiguous questions, overly long reading passages or passages with commercial product placements or vocabulary that is anachronistic and/or not age-appropriate. Please note if there are any other issues that concern you or make the exams flawed or problematic.This year the exams are also untimed. How long did it take your child or students to complete the questions?
It was nearly four years ago, on April 18 when I first learned from a comment on our blog about the absurd Pineapple passage on the 2012 ELA exam.
After I did a little research and blogged about this passage the next day, the story of the race between a Hare and a Pineapple with no sleeves quickly blew up into a national scandal. To this day, the Pineapple has endured as emblematic of the lack of accountability on the part of the test-makers and policymakers, who insist on using these exams to rate schools, students and teachers.
Please also note below if you have info about the opt-out rates at your schools. Already we have received reports of high rates in some Rochester-area districts and at PS 261 in Brooklyn.
thanks Leonie
