More on High-Stakes Tests

This article is certainly worth the time you might spend registering with the Washington Post Online. If you know any members of the ACE Steering Committee, please pass it on to them.

Here are the first couple of paragraphs; I highly recommend the article.


Those Who Pass Classes But Fail Tests Cry Foul

By Ian Shapira
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 21, 2006; A01

Sylvia James hardly considers herself clueless in mathematics. After all, she finished sixth grade with a B-plus in the subject and made the Honor Roll, which she saw as a victory in a challenging year of fraction conversion and decimal placement.

But what happened when she took the state math test?

She flunked it.

Now, by that measure, Virginia considers the 12-year-old below par in math.

"I was kind of shocked," said Sylvia, who attends Herbert J. Saunders Middle School in Prince William County. "I just thought I was going to pass it because I always usually pass everything else. I guess I went through the test pretty quickly."