While nearly every educator had a theory, no one at the State Board of Education meeting today had firm answers for the sharp drop in writing test scores this year. … The board is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to keep the scores as part of its ABCs of Public Education ratings. … Testing consultants from Texas and Florida have already recommended that the state discard this year’s writing results. … Only 47 percent of fourth-graders passed the single-essay test, down from nearly 69 percent the previous year; 63 percent of the seventh-graders earned passing scores, a decline of 10 percentage points from the year before.
— William L. Holmes, “Low test scores puzzle state officials,” The News & Observer, July 10, 2002

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From: “Sam Trunkenwhite” ([email protected])
Date: Tues, 9 Jul 2002
To: “Mike Easley” ([email protected])
Subject: writig test resluts

Dear Mike,

As u know i am reqiured by law to report back to the Guviner about the tests. The resluts of the writig tets. Well i gotta say they ai’nt gud. They are so bad in fack that they is want us to descard em, the consultnets.

Altho we do tehse tests ever year of kids in forth grade. And seventh grade. And last couple years the test resluts have been ok. Last year was gudder than 2000. Last year 69 precent of are forth graders did ok.

This year only 47 precent did ok!! We do not know. Why they dun so bad.

Are seventh grade did not so bad. They had the results that 63. They better than forth graders. Still we do’nt know, why. The same last year was 73 precent!!

What all this was was a probulm. Cause we go use this tests for part of ABCs of Pubic Education rateings. We go use this rateings for teacher bonises and how to tell what schols that dont do so gud for kids learnig. We ca’nt have this many schols bad!! Not enough teachers bonises!!

At teh State Bord we did a meeting about it. We were all like why did this happen, and what to do?? Some sed it was cause them tests are to subjunctive. Some sed the questions, that they coudl not tell what the questons were ask about. Some go they students were give to much time. And some were even like dam if i know.

We figgered what we needed was that we had conslutents. So we had these peaple hear from Texas and Flordia. They were test exprets. We were like look at this results to them. We were all tell us what to do?? What hapened??

So they were all like hey, take it easy, ya’ll calm down now. We were going yea RIGHT!!1 But they sed just let us look at it and well tell you what to do. So we were like ok, alright.

So it wo’nt to long when they came back and go hear’s what you gotta do. They sed to keep this results would be like for to question there vadility. So they reckon mended we descard the resluts. It woudl go like it never hapened.

So i think that is what we will chose to do, there idea. What a grate idea!!

Later,

Sam Trunkenwhite
State Testing Super Viser

P.S. Gud luck on gettig teh lottery for pubic schols. We need one real bad!!1

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From: “Mike Easley” ([email protected])
Date: Tues, 9 Jul 2002
To: “Sam Trunkenwhite” ([email protected])
Subject: RE: writig test resluts

Dear Sam,

I have received your message on the writing test results, and I have to say it explained a lottery. As governor I know there’s a lottery that needs to be done to improve our public schools. I’m glad there are dedicated public servants like you working to improve all our lotteries.

Thanks a lottery,

Mike