This one is for the educators out there to all cringe when they read it. New Zealand’s Qualification Authority (NZQA) will allow students to use IM/SMS/text-speak shorthand on national exams and receive full credit, given that the meaning of shortened words and phrases is still clear. The NZQA will not accept text-speak on all exams, saying that the English exam will penalize such shorthand.
I hope for the sake of America’s education that something like this does not set a precedent that we follow. The American educational system has gone through some insensible changes in the past ten years, but the change in New Zealand might even be too much for our Department of Education to enact.
R U 4 Real?
I’ll have to tease my NZ friends about this one.
So, I talked with my NZ friends about this, and they were all like, (sigh) “It’s not that. It’s just saying that they’ll allow spelling mistakes, which they’ve always done.” Or something to that effect. So maybe it’s not like encouraged, but just grudgingly accepted.
@jessi: While it might be true that this step is not geared at encouraging text-speak and the like, and only accepting spelling errors, the articles never touched on that. That is most likely for the added sensationalism, which attracts readers, much like it attracted me and the slashdot community. Sensationalism aside, the article leads me to believe that by accepting text-speak, the powers that be in NZ are allowing the elevation of test scores for those who could not properly plan out the timing of an essay or series of questions, and therefore had to resort to the shorthand to quickly jot down their responses. Spelling mistakes are one thing, text-speak on an exam is outright stupid.