A student attending Stansbury High School was taking his biology exam in an online format and got this very personal question about handling an abortion. Thankfully he had his cell phone to take a picture of the test question he received. Click to enlarge it.
The student said this question had come up earlier in the year when taking a different test. This is a very disturbing question that appears to violate Utah law asking about potential religious and sexual beliefs. This is not a SAGE test, but some other provider openly seeking behavioral data on students.
The appropriate ans that is not included is Kids, Mom is going to have a baby. We have also learned that there is a strong possibility that this child will have Downs Syndrome and if so it will need all the love that all of us can provide. We ask that you make some plans to properly welcome your new Brother of Sister into out family. We are so proud of you.
You are absolutely right. These common core tests are all multiple choice and make the student pick an answer that is incorrect, but they don’t have any other choice. My son’s district writing assessment question was “is it OK to burn the Quran?” And they conveniently provided the for and against articles the student has to quote from!
“Is growth population beneficial or not? Does it have a positive or negative effect on human-well being, economy, and the environment?”
Our essay question…..garbage population control is the proper response.
Exactly!
How dare they discuss this on a test. Totally inappropriate. How is there a “right” answer. This is a personal belief.
I think the second answer is a pretty good description of using one’s personal beliefs to decide what to do.
The second answer makes it sound like a consensus approval, almost the like the community is helping decide. Why isn’t there an answer of “We would accept this and welcome the child into our home.”? There is no pro-life option.
Yes there is. Last option.
That is not a pro-life option. That is a standard “pro-choice” option of leave everyone out of it but the mother since she’s carrying the baby.
Beautifully state, Henry! :)
This is personal to me because I have a beautiful DS girl named Ellie. This test question really is the ultimate question and the correct answer may have eternal consequences. It is too bad that some people think it is ok to dispose of you if your eyes are not blue, your hair is not blonde, you’re a female, or some other physical trait. “..for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Needless to say, Ellie has taught me so many more important things than I have ever learned in the school system.
This question is a thinly veiled attempt to determine if the hyper-secular, anti-religion, anti-family Common Core “education” has succeeded in getting the student to turn from parental and family influences to follow what and how the government wants him to believe.
Turning students away from family and to rely and depend on, and hold “governmentally correct” beliefs indoctrinated into them over their years at school is perhaps the major objective of the Common Core assault on civilization and culture.
The fact that the test was prepared by one of our own educators instead of by the NGOs sponsored by Obama and gang, is disturbing. It shows the danger of this program infecting others and developing into an epidemic. Even the very elite can be deceived.
I know the test wasn’t SAGE, but I’m not sure where the test bank came from. I tend to doubt the teacher created the question, but whatever test bank or source it came from needs to be cut off and never used again.
Oak – I’d be super interested in verifying this and researching further into the actual source of the question. Can you send me any additional info?
I’ve pointed a couple of state school board members at this and hopefully they will be able to track it down. I may call the school as well.
I am his mother and can verify, please feel welcome to contact me.
I just want to thank you for raising a wonderful son who knows right from wrong and who is obviously an independent and critical thinker. Thank you, very impressive.
Notice there is no option along the lines of “…respecting life…” just because it is a life. Period. But there is the opposite, “abort because it’s recommended by an all-knowing-doctor. Nothing about adoption or “all lives matter.” Everyone’s feelings are considered except the baby’s. Nothing about ripping it apart piece by piece and how that might feel. Nothing about possibility of abortion complications to mom, emotionally and physically. Just the logistics, like it’s a shopping trip or vacation to plan.
It sickens me.
A moral question is not an appropriate subject for ANY test through the school system.
While I have many issues with common core as a teacher, I am really bugged by posts like this one implying this question is a direct result of common core. While there is a biology standard on the Utah Biology State core that applies to bioethics and DNA, there is nothing there directly related to abortion decisions. The teacher of this course chose to include the question in a quiz or test on their own. (I recognize the format of the screen shot belonging to a program called Canvas that many districts are now using to allow teachers to put content to their classes in an online format) All in all, it is poorly written test question as it seems to reward a correct answer point for a question asking for an opinion.
But posting and sharing stories like this in my opinion weakens arguments against common core because they are assuming an individual teacher’s choice is a result of common core when in fact they are not. Common core’s biggest problem, in my opinion is that it seeks to take away a teacher’s option to teach what is most needed by the students in their school as determined by all the stakeholders of that school, students, parents and teachers and the surrounding community. Common core’s failure is a one size fits all approach to education. This test problem is not an example of that. It is rather an example of a teacher making a choice out of harmony with the stakeholders of his/her particular school.
Ruth, a more careful reading of the above post will indicate that nowhere does my language suggest that this was a Common Core related test or question. This type of question is a violation of Utah law and has no place on a test for grading. It’s an opinion and doesn’t even give a range of answers that would be suitable, if the question was even able to be asked legitimately. It’s a profiling question. As for your second paragraph, I completely agree. We need local control so parents are back in the driver’s seat and we aren’t subjecting our children to one-size-fits-all education.
Oak,
Full disclosure, I think this is a lot of hub-bub about nothing, but at the same time, I believe in following the law; so, if this a violation of Utah Law then I’m totally with you.
HOWEVER, I would like to point out that this post was posted to “utahnsagainstcommoncore,” so, I can’t help but believe that there is an assumed association with “Common Core,” and it’s applicable overlords.
So, while “nowhere does [your] language suggest that this was a Common Core related test or question,” it’s kind of assumed that it is.
Dear Mildly Entertained, this site also contains positive ideas for education that have nothing to do with Common Core, and has reported on other education issues that don’t appear to have anything to do with Common Core. It’s not the first unique post in that regard. We try to cover a range of education issues.
Oak
Yes. Common Core is just math and literacy standards. I have no idea where this inappropriate test question came from, but it is not Common Core.
Common Core is more than just math and ELA. In Utah we have also embraced the Next Generation Science Standards which are the national Common Core science standards. Rep. Brian King also tried to pave the way for Common Core sex ed standards last session. The bill failed, thankfully. Those “standards” were written by Planned Parenthood.
As for this test question, as I already replied to Ruth that I never indicated it was tied to CC.
The unfortunate fact that Planned Parenthood does perform safe, legal abortions does not negate the fact that they do provide great services to our community with cheap reproductive care for women that can not be obtained quickly, easily & cheaply elsewhere. I went there as a poor newly wed student for birth control. My nieces have gone there as they’ve prepared for their marriages. It is much more than an evil abortion clinic. We need good pregnancy & STD prevention and sex education to PREVENT the opportunity for someone to choose abortion as an option.
Abstinence education in Utah has given the state the lowest or one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in America. Why would we introduce sex ed to younger children to get them curious about things from younger ages and turn into every other state?
https://southdakotansagainstcommoncore.com/2013/05/01/national-sexuality-education-standards-core-content-and-skills-k-12/
And this question is totally NOT the responsibility of the school or teacher to put on any test given to students in high school, or middle school, or elementary school!
Common Core is destroying our educational system and our children. It is also abusing the students!
Judy, just so I’m clear with everyone, this particular question is not part of Common Core. It’s just highly irresponsible and illegal that it was put on a test.
What are the chances of these types of questions showing up in Wasatch School District?
It’s possible because this came from a test bank and wasn’t just one teacher’s creation.
I’d say it almost certainly came from a test bank. A search for the text shows other instances where the question is used as early as 2010 –right alongside regular, run-of-the-mill biology questions.
Jordan, this question did come from a test bank and evidently the teacher didn’t even review the questions on the quiz or final exam which both contained this question. If teachers were paid to write original questions for the test bank, that may indicate that a teacher contributing to this test bank plagiarized. If they were just to pull questions from other banks, the teacher who pulled this one either had an agenda or wasn’t thinking at all.
This question is a direct representation of education reform with common core being part of the package. Was this a SAGE question? This appears to measure attitude not information or critical thinking. What could a teacher possible do this the results of this question?
Not SAGE, but it measures values and beliefs, not academic knowledge. Highly inappropriate.
Best answer… none of your business how I answer, It’s a family matter.
Is there supposed to be a correct answer to this question?
I don’t see how asking about potential responses to genetic testing in light of whether an abortion should be performed has as much to do with biology as it does with ethics and morality, such as you’d find in a sociology class.
Either way, the correct answer is to allow the child to have a chance at life just like all of us have had.
The correct answer is “B” (or the second one).
This is a very terrible test question, and is wrong on so many levels. It is arguably subjective, completely ignorant, and plants a seed in the minds of students that Down syndrome (not Down’s thank you) is inherently bad. As an educator, this is an awful question that could easily be revised to test actual genetics facts. As a mom to an amazing kid with Down syndrome, it makes me even more amazed this got written and passed by a testing board. I have an M.Ed. and have taken assessment classes and statistics classes. This is a horribly written question on so many levels. Not to mention bringing abortion into the discussion which is a whole other level of wrong than eugenics and poor writing.
I really don’t see what the big deal is. 3/4 of the answers don’t necessarily condone or prohibit any particular decision, and are about thinking about which factors to consider when making the choice. This is a real life situation that some people face and getting older kids thinking about how they would approach difficult situations like this seems to be perfectly appropriate to me.
http://www.180movie.com
This was created in a Canvas course, a program that works as an online classroom. The teacher had full discression of what goes in the course. Anyone can set up a Canvas course and create a quiz. If this is actually from a classroom then it is the teacher’s sole responsibility and not some indicator or larger systematic problems.
The teacher should have reviewed the questions, but how did the question get in the bank? It’s a violation of state law. Who contributed it? It’s not SAGE testing, but with SAGE parents and teachers can’t see the questions. If this youth hadn’t taken a picture of the question this discussion would never have happened. How many SAGE questions are inappropriate? SAGE needs to end.
WTF kind of question is this? How can this possibly be connected to education? Obviously it is all about indoctrination! They are trying to determine if this child has developed “appropriate morals” — according to the twisted, Luciferian standards. They are normalizing abortion because nowhere is an option presented to KEEP THE BABY AND LET IT LIVE ITS LIFE!!! This is extremely **********. I am sickened by what is happening to the kids in the name of education.
As a pro-life advocate from Seattle before moving to SLC, I do support Oak’s position on “the abortion Q” but when would students have an opportunity to study the best arguments supporting an abstinence and pro-life culture so they are ready to engage a pro-choice culture in college? In the spirit of diversity, bring on the abortion supporting professor for a debate with me. Are we to shield high school students from these issues? Could students be encouraged to pick an important but controversial issue as a report topic and defend their thesis before an audience that is or would play the role of skeptic? There are powerful arguments, some subliminal, from many disciplines that promote the concept of universal human dignity, some using the media of art and literature that even pro-life college students are unaware of but should be. They are all too often ineffective or reluctant in defending their positions. The Jordon School Dist. uses nurses to teach sex ed which could indicate that crucial “abstinence apologetics” principles from history, moral philosophy, etc. are not well covered.
It keeps being said that this question is not CC. But CC has become a generic term in most people’s minds, and that is not going to change whether exact or not. CC is seen as part of the overall UN globalist citizen and Islamic indoctrination, as we have seen with Bernie supporters. It is all too apparent the whole education system has become Orwellian with abortion part and parcel.
In the form of fine, community service or a time in jail, I hope Utah law is actually applied to this teacher as an example that these globalist trained teachers have to comply with some form of nationalism and states rights. Punishment will be the only way to get them to stop, imo.