War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests

War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 'Forbidden' Words Banned From Standardized Tests « CBS New York.

The article presents a list of what the headline described as “banned words,” and we see whole concepts and topics, including “Children dealing with serious issues” and “Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting).”

Obviously the intent is to avoid upsetting children who are taking the all-important, high-stakes standardized tests. If the questions, probably written by educated and relatively privileged freelance or specialist writers, refer to getting coffee at Starbucks, an involved pair of parents who carpool the kids in a minivan and commute to an office job, and a backyard swimming pool, students who are unfamiliar with those emblems of class may have just a bit more difficulty understanding the questions.

Taken out of context, this looks much worse than it is. This story is more useful for the light it sheds on how fragile and inaccurate a standardized can be than it is an example of either a major education scandal or a shining example of education journalism.