Journal file photo
Deborah Gist
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Board of Education chairwoman called Saturday's mock test a publicity stunt; the state education commissioner said the adult participants were irresponsible; and a few students got nasty.
The debate over linking the New England Common Assessment Program - or NECAP - to high school graduation has risen to a new level in the wake of an exercise Saturday in which about 35 adults took a segment of the math test.
The test left numerous participants shaking their heads over the difficulty of the questions, which ranged from geometry to probability, and more than a few suggested abandoning the test as a graduation requirement.
That provoked heated words from state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist, who called participants' response to the test "an outrageous act of irresponsibility."
"It's deeply irresponsible on the part of the adults, especially those who are highly educated," she said. "They're sending a message that it can't be done or that it doesn't matter."