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  • LETTER OF THE DAY

    Filed at 6:34 am under by dcobranchi

    Teaching the test applauded:

    It’s a teacher’s job to prepare students for test questions

    It’s not Mark DelPercio’s fault that he is a good teacher. (He is the teacher-coach at Middletown High School, where most 10th-graders said they received math test questions in advance, July 25th edition)

    I thought that a teacher’s job was to prepare his or her students for any kind of test or quiz that may come about in the future.

    Students have stated that when they were given the state test, that they had recognized some of the questions. So what’s the problem? It would kind of defeat the purpose of the test if they had no clue what the answers were. The reason for a test is to ensure that the student knows and understands the material that was presented to them during class.

    Timothy Danz, Newark

    I can only assume that Danz is 150 years old and senile. Or this letter is a spoof. Anything less is just plain scary.

    6 Responses to “LETTER OF THE DAY”


    Comment by
    Christine
    August 1st, 2006
    at 10:03 am

    What an idiot! I tend to believe that there are people that stupid out there.


    Comment by
    Jodi
    August 1st, 2006
    at 10:13 am

    When I was in high school & college, it was pretty standard to be given the test ahead of time to study from. Most teachers would “mix up the questions” (if it was a multiple choice type test) but to be honest, I can’t think of a single teacher by name that DIDN’T do this.


    Comment by
    sam
    August 1st, 2006
    at 11:05 am

    SNIP:
    I thought that a teacher’s job was to prepare his or her students for any kind of test or quiz that may come about in the future.

    The letter writer is right about being prepared for a test. I was grocery shopping just recently and wasn’t able to finish because they require me to pass a test to enter the produce department. I totally wished I’d studied this when we covered in 20 years ago in seventh grade.
    DAMN!!! I really needed some of those vegetables, but I was unprepared for a test.


    Comment by
    Daryl Cobranchi
    August 1st, 2006
    at 11:11 am

    In 19 years of school (including grad school) I can’t think of a single instance of being handed the test in advance.

    You must not have been in a fraternity. 🙂


    Comment by
    Rob
    August 2nd, 2006
    at 9:52 am

    Anyone besides me ever seek Project Management Professional certification in the grown up adult world? The best way to do it, is study up on the questions you’ll likely be asked during the 4 hour test. It’s important to know what the PMP folks consider the correct answer, because you likely have some different opinions.

    Of course, being a PMP doesn’t make one smart, or a good project manager, but it did keep me employed an extra 8 months at Qwest after the telcom bubble burst.

    Sometimes, you really can find a grown-up version of a dumb method of poorly educating kids.


    Comment by
    Jodi
    August 5th, 2006
    at 11:41 am

    *snip* Students have stated that when they were given the state test, that they had recognized some of the questions. So what’s the problem? It would kind of defeat the purpose of the test if they had no clue what the answers were. *snip*

    Preaching to the choir I know.

    How is it, if schools think they must “teach the test” that homeschoolers that are required to take standardized tests do just as well, or better, when they have been “deprived” of the opportunity to learn the test?

    It does make me wonder (again) why testing is given so much emphasis at all. If the students in PS are learning the answers to the test, I wonder if they’re learning anything else….