NYC Education Board barring certain words from tests

[lph]

This is so bizarre that I'm inclined to think it's a huge hoax. Anyone?

http://techie-buzz.com/science/words-banned-from-state-tests.html

This isn't even (if it's true) a suggestion to treat these subjects with care, it's a suggested ban on the actual words. Someone please, enlighten me!

[Melalvai]

I guess it's just been proposed, not actually banned yet.
Ridiculous that it's even been proposed. I'll be a lot more concerned if the ban is actually adopted. I'm from Kansas...I'll lose a lot of respect for New York!

[malkin]

Maybe they expanded the list deliberately to the point of absurdity.

[Veronica]

It's an interesting list. For every word I can think of some group that would be happy to see it removed.

In some cases I think they are trying to make the test more accessible to all students. I suspect NY classrooms are at least as culturally diverse as mine. Not everyone has the same background knowledge and that can make a huge difference in test taking.

For example, this is an email I got from a teacher at my school this morning.

I was reading a book set in China in 1865 and it talked about “terraced rice fields.” One of my bright EL students raised his hand and asked how Osama bin Laden could be in this story because he wasn’t alive then. I couldn’t figure out how he made that connection until he explained…. He heard and understood “terraced” as “terrorist!”

Veronica

PS EL stands for English Learner - students whose home language is something other than English.

[PamNY]

It's an interesting list. For every word I can think of some group that would be happy to see it removed.

In some cases I think they are trying to make the test more accessible to all students. I suspect NY classrooms are at least as culturally diverse as mine. Not everyone has the same background knowledge and that can make a huge difference in test taking.

That sums up what I think about it.

Except for one brief quote saying essentially what Veronica said, the news coverage I've read focuses on making the list look silly. I've seen no comment from educators who actually cope with a diverse population on a daily basis.