That kind of analysis is impossible with South Carolina s tests, a shortcoming that Lindsay acknowledges. PACTs, as they are known, lack the appropriate number of questions linked to each standard to make such an analysis worthwhile, she said. In fact, the 2001 versions of the tests will have 10 percent fewer questions after teachers complained their students wrestled with test fatigue after the past two years. You don t want to test their stress level, you want to test their knowledge, Lindsay said. Belinda Hickson, an eighth-grade language arts teacher at W.J. Clark Middle School in Orangeburg, likes the current standardized testing system because there are no surprises.
Students are aware of what they ll be tested on.
Teachers are aware of what needs to be covered, Hickson said. Fran Emmel, a finalist this year for the S.C. Teacher of the Year, thinks the PACT is an improvement over the former Basic Skills Assessment Program, which relied on multiple-choice questions to measure general knowledge. PACT, on the other hand, has made educators reevaluate how children learn and it has led us to make the shift from rote skills and drills to higher level thinking. The new state standards . These standards are challenging, but to make progress in education we must challenge ourselves and our students, Emmel said.