Have anyone else seized up while taking a rudimentary reading and writing test?
Would/Could self trained coping skills that compensate for Ld’s weigh in as native first language?
Schools chief fails must-pass test
By Associated Press, 8/3/2003 20:01
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/215/regionSchools_chief_fails_must_pass_:.shtml
LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) Superintendent of Schools Wilfredo T. Laboy, who recently put two dozen
teachers on unpaid leave for failing a basic English proficiency test, has himself flunked a requiredliteracy test three times, The Eagle-Tribune reported Sunday.
Laboy, who called his failing scores ”frustrating” and ”emotional,” blamed a lack of preparation and concentration, and his lack of English skills. Spanish is his first language.
”It bothers me because I’m trying to understand the congruence of what I do here every day and this stupid test,” said Laboy. ”That’s what, emotionally, I’m so upset about.”
State Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said he is aware of Laboy’s troubles with the test, but would not say how many chances Laboy would be given to pass or what the consequences of another failure could be.
He commended Laboy on an ”excellent job” leading the district, but said ”he’s going to have to pass.”
”He told me he needs more time to prepare for the test. I told him, ‘Fine.’ … The situation will only get serious if he goes much longer without passing,” Driscoll said.
Since 1998, all educators from teachers to superintendents have had to pass the Communications and Literacy Skills Test, which measures basic reading and writing skills, including vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization.
Laboy barely passed the reading section on his second attempt, scoring the minimum required grade, he said this week.
He also failed the writing portion three times, and a section requiring test-takers to transcribe a passage read over an audiotape, using proper punctuation and spelling.
Candidates must pass all sections of the test in a single sitting, and may not appeal their scores, according to the state education department Web site.
”What brought me down was the rules of grammar and punctuation,” Laboy said. ”English being a second language for me, I didn’t do well in writing. If you’re not an English teacher, you don’t look at the rules on a regular basis.”
Laboy, who receives a 3 percent pay hike this month that will raise his salary to $156,560, recently put 24 teachers on unpaid administrative leave because they failed a basic English test, which has been required since voters passed a law last fall requiring English-only classrooms.
Driscoll said he is willing to give Laboy more time to prepare for another retest.
”He’s not a native language speaker, so a formal test is something he needs to prepare for,” Driscoll said. ”It doesn’t mean anything now. It will mean more as time goes on because there’s an
expectation that he’ll pass.”
Re: Boston Beans: Food for Thought
I wonder how the Superintendent writes his intructions and memos to the staff…and if they can read them.
I wonder if he can read the written materials that are sent to him.
Maybe they should have tested him before they hired him. :)
Tests provide information - some good and some bad. The important thing is to also use other information such as a social history, medical history, work history and personal interview or two. The object is to gain a complete picture.
Tests are a timed activity primarily because work (and to a certain degree schoolwork) is a timed activity. Yes, I’m aware of the usefulness of untimed tests in certain situations -> I test people as a part of my job as a vocational evaluator.
Tests are useful if used responsibly.
John
People can seize up during all kinds of tests even rudimentary tests. Tests are a time of judgment and people take tests knowing they will be judged on the results. That’s something that almost invites a ‘seizing up’ and some people are more prone to seizing up than others.
Test were invented for the purposes of convenience. They really aren’t thought to help the people taking them.