Writing exams from 49 schools were found to have "template writing" -- instances in which students from the same school used identical or similar phrases on FCAT essays, such as "Poof! Now I'm in dragon land." The patterns were discovered when the exams were scored.
Some educators blame the problem on FCAT, the state's high-stakes test, and the pressure to score well. The phrases found repeatedly seem an attempt to showcase colorful, creative writing, and they might be viewed that way if they were used by individual children. But when many youngsters in a school write the same way, the department suspects that rote memorization, rather than good writing, is at play.
What have we done to education? Look what some schools are doing just to get past the state tests!
