Criticism of Exit Test Unfounded
* Re “High School Exit Exam,” Letters, Dec. 23:
Marvin Petal states “The test asks for a definition of the adjective ‘inquisitive’ and asks the student to choose the correct answer from four possible alternatives, all of which begin with “one who . . .,” i.e., allowing only a noun as the correct choice.”
Petal criticizes only one of the 20 sample multiple-choice items in the English/Language Arts Teacher Guide, Part 1. The guide is designed to help teachers understand possible ways that the state standards might be measured on the exam. This item is not on the exam, as explained in page 7 of the guide in bold print. True, the choices A, B, C and D are written as noun phrases and the vocabulary word is an adjective, but students would read the word in context as part of a phrase of “. . . inquisitive boy.”
After 28 years of teaching experience, I am confident that students would be able to choose the correct answer from the four possible choices, which begin with “one who . . .” Students are taught to read vocabulary words in context, not in isolation, so there should be no problem with this type of question.
My concern is that if Petal wraps his concerns around issues that do not hurt kids, what is the point of his letter? I am confident the exam will prove beneficial to students, enabling them to be equipped with the necessary skills to make it in our world.
GAY DAVIDSON-SHEPARD
Huntington Beach
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