There was an article in today's NY Sun about the problems with extended time on exams. I have to agree. Too many kids are getting this time. Their parents are paying psychologists and fancy schools to get the right diagnosis and the kids are getting time and a half to do the exams. The problem is that kids are being taught to cheat and that cheaters prosper. Kids that really need the time are often not given the time because of this rampant cheating. Kids that really need the time are having their intellect questioned. Taking extra time that they are not entitled to is the equivalent of using a handicapped parking spot with a stolen sticker.
5 comments:
There's a whole website that is dedicated to cheating. There are tips on how to do it, the classic term paper market. It's horrifying. I'm not so horrified THAT they cheat, just with how it seems to be acceptable behavior.
If a kid doesn't "know" the answer it doesn't matter how much time you give them! Have you ever proctored the ELA with a student who doesn't read a word of english. It is torture!
I agree with you and feel the same way whenever I watch kids suffer through an exam that they have no ability to pass.
My niece has been trying to get her son serviced by his Jersey school. Instead they gave him "extended time" without any other service.
I wish she had spoken to me about what was going on. Only after contacting the superintendent was she able to get him a one-on-one para.
I think extended time is being abused. At my child's school, the administration won't even let the kids debate or speak about it. Talk about squelching freedom of speech.
The majority of kids that get extended time are wealthy and white. Their parents can afford for a diagnosis of an imagined disability.
Thankfully, college admissions officers are aware of the abuse, and look at test scores accordingly. Some colleges we have visited, like Pomona, don't rate test scores as highly as they rate personal interviews, and teacher recommendations. Now if parents start paying teachers to write good recs.....
It actually would not surprise me.
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