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When I mentioned this to the lead counselor, he told me that they no longer taught grammar in the school....too much time taken up with prepping for all the other testing. No wonder I see so many semi-literate first drafts. <<<
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The usual cop-out! If teachers were ABLE to teach the material in the first place, they might not have to worry about teaching the test. We are where we are because of decades of lack of accountability and silent acceptance of mediocrity. The kids do not care for proper grammar and spelling because they are allowed to by lazy or incompetent educators.
Had we valued testing two or three decades ago and attempted to only hire better teachers, we might be able to see some real excellence at the end of the dark tunnel students spend formative years.
That and hear fewer excuses.