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I just came across a random post on a random news blog saying that several words were banned from New York's standardized tests. This included common words, such as Christmas, dinosaurs, birthdays.

I really disbelieved of this so I made a quick search hoping to end up in nothing, but came across several non reliable sources with the same info, and this post from The Washington Post:

You might expect a standardized test to avoid using profane words but, it turns out, other words are banned too and they may surprise you: dinosaur and Halloween, rock ‘n roll and rap music, just to name a few. (...)

I still have a rough time believing in this.

Is this true?

Sklivvz
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Alpha
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  • That doesn't look like *The* Washington Post, but rather *a* Washington Post *blog*, linking to another random-looking page ("silive.com"). – Piskvor left the building Mar 30 '12 at 07:38
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    I've removed the second question because nobody is claiming beneficial effects – Sklivvz Mar 30 '12 at 07:52
  • I once heard of "gun" being removed from a list of words to spell. Can't remember where or when though. – Andrew Grimm Mar 30 '12 at 08:02
  • @Sklivvz, my bad. The original sources I found claimed that this was done in order to prevent "traumatizing children", but this new sources do not claim so. – Alpha Mar 30 '12 at 14:00
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    Without being able to provide any references I would suggest that questions that revolve around cultural ideas and rituals (like "Christmas") would represent a possible source of bias against immigrants and people from minority cultural traditions, making them problematic from the point of view of getting a good measurement of achievement. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Mar 30 '12 at 16:00
  • @dmckee I did think so, but part of the test itself could account for social immersion, a good test for education results. I find it hard to believe that children in Ney York, be of any culture that they follow, have not heard about Christmas or birthdays. I don't mean they are fully involved in their history, but I would expect _anyone_ to be able to have a conversation and name them. Why would a test be different? (Just personal opinion here.) – Alpha Mar 31 '12 at 00:43
  • @Alpha The thing is that courts have been very suspicious of these issues since the civil rights movement and bureaucracies can be very gun-shy about lawsuits. Cheaper and safer to not fight the lawsuit in the first place, *even* if it is one that you can win. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Mar 31 '12 at 03:22
  • @dmckee I see your point, that makes sense. Thanks. – Alpha Mar 31 '12 at 19:55
  • @Alpha If I'm a strict Muslim, I might not have told my kids anything helpful about Christmas. And plenty of Christian kids probably know nothing about Ramadan. – DJClayworth Mar 31 '12 at 20:38
  • I'd say there's good reason for leaving words that might set off PTSD triggers out of spelling tests, @AndrewGrimm. – TRiG Dec 24 '13 at 21:58

1 Answers1

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Yes, it is a real list of guidelines sent to test-makers by the New York Department of Education - a practice in common with other US states, but differing in its extent.

It was covered by CBS in New York. While the video attached to this page includes a lot of speculation, it includes a door-stop interview with an official, Schools' Chancellor Dennis Walcott, that confirms the nature of the list.

Oddthinking
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