I received an email yesterday from someone sharing her 17 year old nephew’s experience in taking the SAGE test. Not only are SAGE tests poorly designed, but as has been reported, presentation of material is one-sided which opens up the possibility of pushing an agenda (which we already know is at work through the origins of Common Core).

“I tried to give the SAGE test a chance. It was just going to be another test that I have to take. But after taking most of the English section, I’m realizing how little thought was put into its development. They take a completely wrong approach to testing, and the software is terrible. The essays essentially say, “Read the passages, then write an argumentative essay on the history of dirt. Make sure to include the opposition.” The questions are boring, irrelevant to the context, and many are unnecessarily difficult. The passages are poorly written, and are way too long for the time given to take the test. They don’t need to be as long as they are to test the abilities that they’re assessing. What really kills me is the “listening” questions, which talk in monotone voices that are set in random situations, and don’t supply much