Thursday, December 25, 2014

Literasy, Amirite?

A majority of students training at scores of New York colleges to become teachers flunked a literacy test they have to pass to be licensed, new figures show.

The state Board of Regents for the first time is requiring would-be teachers to pass the Academic Literacy Skills exam.
It measures whether a prospective teacher can understand and analyze reading material and also write competently. The results show many don’t belong anywhere near a classroom.

At Boricua College in The Bronx, 13 students took the literacy test. Not a single one passed.

At a half-dozen City University campuses, about half or more failed to make the grade.

More Misery.

1 comment:

  1. I'm guessing the low response is partly because it was Christmas Day, partly because nobody is surprised.

    Allow me to posit a reason for the low literacy scores of NYC schools. I suspect much of the score is based on responses to multiple choice questions such as this one:

    1. In the preceding passage, the author's main point is:
    a. We should reduce greenhose gas emissions to mitigate polar ice cap melting.
    b. Past trends in global temperature rises were smaller than today's.
    c. Anthropogenic global warming has some benefits, particuarly for plants.
    d. We should 'teach the controversy' and let students decide the truth for themselves.
    e. I got your 'main point' right here.

    ReplyDelete

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