NYC Dept. Of Ed. Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests

[classicman]

Here is the list. What say you? I think its frikkin ridiculous.

Here is the complete list of words that could be banned:

Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological)
Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, or drugs
Birthday celebrations (and birthdays)
Bodily functions
Cancer (and other diseases)

Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes)
Celebrities
Children dealing with serious issues
Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia)
Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting)

Crime
Death and disease
Divorce
Evolution
Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes

Gambling involving money
Halloween
Homelessness
Homes with swimming pools
Hunting

Junk food
In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge
Loss of employment
Nuclear weapons
Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling)

Parapsychology
Politics
Pornography
Poverty
Rap Music

Religion
Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)
Rock-and-Roll music
Running away
Sex

Slavery
Terrorism
Television and video games (excessive use)
Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)
Vermin (rats and roaches)

Violence
War and bloodshed
Weapons (guns, knives, etc.)
Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.

(The link I got it from loaded VERY slowly.
Google if you want I'm sure there are others)

ETA - I only saw 45 words. I guess math(s) should be added as well

[ZenGum]

The general idea has some merit, in that it could be very unfair to throw traumatic or emotionally upsetting images into spelling tests.

If you are that upset by words like birthday (cause you're a JW) or evolution (cause you're a twit) then you have bigger problems than bad spelling.

Idea had some worth; execution got hijacked by nutters; result is, as you say, frikken ridiculous.

[wolf]

There they go again, banning witchcraft. It will be duckings and pressings next.

[wolf]

One must ask ... when the hell have pornography, rap music, video games, and parapsychology ever been part of a standardized test?

[Sundae]

What is a standardized test when it's at home?
Because some of the above are ideas and concepts, not words, so it can't be spelling tests.

[Clodfobble]

Standardized tests include a reading & comprehension section. There is a short essay to read, followed by 5-7 questions about the essay, with anywhere from 3 to 10 essays in a given test. They want the essays to be good, but not famous, because it wouldn't be fair if a student had already devoted a lot of time to understanding this one particular passage in class. Often they are short biographies of not-well-known-but-skilled-in-their-field people.

And no, there was probably never a risk of using one about Hunter S. Thompson, sex and drugs were never going to be in there. But video games, rap music, parapsychology... sure. They try to be hip and connect with the kids, which is dumb but it's what they do. A high school student might actually be interested in a short biography of a top video game designer, or a producer of rap music.

Personally? I don't really have a problem with the list. It's exhaustive, which is kind of irritating in the way that all government things must be exhaustive. But all of the topics generally fall into a handful of categories:

1.) Things which are just age-inappropriate (sex, drugs, etc.)

2.) Things which are mildly upsetting to legitimately large groups of people--not bringing them to tears, but upsetting in a frustration/anger type of way. Even low-level frustration is going to affect test scores. If a kid has been brought up to believe evolution is a lie, obviously that's something that needs to be worked on as a separate issue, but don't remind him about how frustrated he is with those liars in the scientific elite right in the middle of a test that's going to affect a school's funding. Likewise, if a kid's dad died on 9/11, reading about terrorism isn't going to make him unable to take the test, but it probably will distract him. It will get him thinking about his dad, rather than focusing on the test.

3.) Things which only rich people have. Swimming pools, vacations, computers in the home... There was a study done that showed that African-American students did measurably worse on tests where they were asked to declare their race in the initial identity information, and better when they were only asked for their name and not their race. Call it self-esteem or a victim mindset, the reality is that kids do worse when they feel worse is expected of them. And I think it's a reasonable logical leap to say that when they are reminded that they're poor (and thus "no good, never going to amount to anything, not going to make it to college like rich Susie is," etc. etc.) they're going to do worse as well.


All of it points back to a fundamental problem with standardized testing, which is a truly awful institution in my opinion. But if we're going to have to do it, I think it should be done as fairly as possible.

[monster]

Homes with sw*mming pools

I'm so traumatized that you posted those words! I'm going to sue the cellar. I had to have the pool boy come over to check I read correctly, and now he's had to go for a lie down.

It's a recreational pool, people. Do I look like some sort of testoterized amazon to you? J'uanita, call my lawyer and bring me a mimosa and my medicine!

[Sundae]

Aha, got it.
We have a couple of reading books that cross the above lines, but we're a different country and they are not in tests. Wild Weather for example, Birthdays and Birthday Celebrations. Celebrities, although these are sportspeople, authors and illustrators (Tiger Woods is in Training to be an Athlete. It says nothing about his extensive work on nocturnal emissions)

The Quest where the old lady has collapsed and the boys have to go looking for a working phone, only to find that they are all vandalised. They return to see the ambulance there, the neighbour called from the old lady's landline as soon as the boys had left.

Witchcraft and sorcery are common themes. The Reception children (4-5) are introduced to Winnie the Witch. They love the story of her at he seaside, and how she turned her cat different colours so she could see him. Maths capacity homework set this term in Class 2 (6-7)included potion making spells. Numbershark includes a game where dragons breathe fire on a don and you see him crisp up if he answer is wrong - albeit in a very crude pixel animation. There is a lot of death in Numbershark actually, although it's mostly things like fish being gobbled up.

I have vetoed a book in which a burglar enters the house at night and is only scared off by the dog. I had three parents report anxious children after reading it. The other TAs were of the opinion that the Marys should rub some dirt in it, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. One the the parents was Tiger-Mum and she is not a moaner, trust me.

I get what you mean about not starting a child at a disadvantage though.
Of course I do, it's my job to assist Tiger and Marcus for that very reason.

[richlevy]

I once worked for a company that wanted to make sure employees were not using offensive words for passwords. Since passwords are never meant to be shared, I really could not see the logic.

So someone created a list of combinations of dirty words that could fit into eight characters. The list had 100-200 entries and was by no means complete. When I came across it at first I was shocked and then I just laughed.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Sundae

We have a couple of reading books that cross the above lines, but we're a different country and they are not in tests.

Yeah, there's definitely a difference between class and test. My son's teacher openly encouraged me to read Neil Gaiman's The Wolves in the Walls to the class, with illustrations that have been known to scare kids as old as 9 or 10. Kids have to be exposed to stuff. But if a child does poorly on this one test, taken one time during the year, the school has money taken away from them. Standardized testing is bullshit.

[classicman]

I think George Carlin would be offended.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Standardized testing is bullshit.

Preach on sista!
The crap I have to go through right now to get some semblance of a "standardized test" for my son... sigh.

[ZenGum]

Hang on.

We can't mention traumatic things in standardised tests, right?

Standardised tests are traumatic, right?

sooooo ......

[classicman]

Ha! really Zen. Whats the most traumatic thing for a school-aged kid? A TEST!
Why isn't that on there.

[TheMercenary]

Another Fine example of Government over reach. Welcome to NY.