After careful consideration, I have decided not to issue the MDCPS district interim

writing test. The test consists of several non-fiction reading passages that are followed by a
prompt that requires students to a write multi-paragraph argument. It is not clear if this
assessment is a result of ignorance in regards to the writing process or the result of forced
culpability, as Florida did pay the state of Utah 5.4 million dollars for their state standardized
tests that incorporate Common Core State Standards.
1
Florida leaders, in their rush to have
"tests" in which to hold educators, schools, and students "accountable" via a dubious and
punitive evaluation system, opted not to wait until Florida assessments were created and properly
vetted via a pilot and peer review process. Whatever might be the cause, the result is an
assessment that leaves most students in a compromised position with little choice but to engage
in pervasive plagiarism. It is faulty pedagogy at best and liable to litigation at worse. Therefore,
I will not engage in actions that will result in leading students down a wrong path that can
ultimately cause them harm and penalty.
In keeping with the current trend in forcing teachers and students to sublimate fiction and
focus on non-fiction texts, the topic for the 11th grade reading passages is financial literacy. This
is a topic that many MDCPS 11
th
grade students have had little to no opportunity in which to
acquire ample background information. This is problematic because far too many students are
unable to form original ideas or provide discourse that is generated from self or sources other
than what has been provided on the tests. Consequently, fertile ground is established for students
to engage in parroting and various forms of plagiarism. Teachers have reported that students took
statements from the texts and either failed to cite them as quotes or used them as their own by
changing the wording and replacing choice words with synonyms. Moreover, those that chose to

1
Woods, B. (2014, April 7). Florida to pay Utah $5.4M for Common Core test rental. Retrieved from
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865600442/Florida-to-pay-Utah-54M-for-Common-Core-test-rental.html?pg=all
give credit where credit was due filled their written response with large sections of quoted or
paraphrased material. All these attempts to write a credible response are plagiaristic and are
characterized by educator Melissa Huseman DAnnunzio as brainchild snatching, wholly
quotable and pervasive paraphrasing that do not lend to original words and ideas.
2
As educators,
we should not issue assessments that encourage habits that are difficult to break and could
become a disadvantage to students, particularly those that eventually enter into institutions of
higher learning.
There is a better method to assessing reading and writing skills that encourages students
to draw from their own repertoire of background knowledge and tap their own intellectual
analysis abilities that will avoid -as opposed to facilitating - the plagiarism trap. Neither
promoting or negating one type of text, the assessment should draw from multiple genres and
prompt the students to identify and analyze a common central idea and the diverse methods used
to develop it in the various texts. For example, Monica Gardners short fiction narrative titled
The Dinner Party, Susan B. Anthony's speech, "On Women's Right to Vote," and Maya
Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman; all develop a pro- feminist central idea. The students
draw from their own knowledge banks filled with information on narrative elements, poetry
elements, rhetorical devices, and roles relegated to women in society to write a credible analysis
of the common central idea rooted in feminism and the diversity in techniques and voice used to
develop the idea. In doing so they are able to demonstrating reading comprehension, analysis
skills, and writing form and conventions that are generated from their own ideas and analysis
skills. These are the skills we work to develop, not plagiarism techniques. These are also skills
that will carry them far in career or college.

2
Huseman, M. (n.d.). The punishable perils of plagiarism - Melissa Huseman D'Annunzio. Retrieved from
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-punishable-perils-of-plagiarism-melissa-huseman-d-annunzio
Needless to say, when the educational focus returns to quality instruction and moves
away from profit for a select few, assessments such as the MDCPS district interim assessment
for writing will certainly not make the cut. But for now, I choose to uphold my integrity and not
involve my students in assessments that are not ethical and are tantamount to educational
malpractice, as I continue to teach them to the best of my ability.