Revamp the SOL Exams

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				THE
Column Archive				VIRGINIA GAZETTE
				WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA
Revamp the SOL Exams				June 26, 2002

In its May 30 editorial, the Daily Press lamented the fact that the state Board of Education was considering a plan whereby students who were unable to pass the SOLs in math, science and history could be considered to have passed if their scores were no more than 10% below the cut-off. Evidently effort will supplant accomplishment – a policy which may come back to haunt the Board in 2007, when students must pass exams in history, English, math and science. It is, said the Daily Press, a watering down of already low standards.

Yet we face an educational conundrum when the question of standards is raised, since, before we can expect our students to reach the standards purportedly represented by passing the SOLs, we must face the question of standards as they pertain to the exams themselves.

For example, in the same issue of the Daily Press in which the editorial appeared, the sample SOL question went as follows: From which of these ancient civilizations did we get the ideas for our government?

A. Greece B. Rome C. China D. Egypt.

To begin with, the question is so vague as to be unanswerable, not only by the third graders for whom it was constructed, but by seventh graders, high schoolers, and even professors of classical studies, who, one presumes, should be able to answer questions dealing with the influence of the cultures of Greece and Rome on our present governmental structure. In fact, I’ll tell you right now that I, despite my 36 years of teaching such material, came up with the wrong answer: Rome.

My problem, I suppose, was that I had no idea what the question meant. What exactly are “ideas for our government?” Are we talking about the tripartite division of our government and the powers inherent in each branch? About our elective process? Or is it simply some vague notion about democracy that is implied in the question?

As is the case with many SOL questions, this one too combines trickery with obfuscation. Two of the answers, China and Egypt, are obviously throw-aways. This, then, leaves the student in the position of having to choose between Greece and Rome, for both of which a case supposedly could be made. Or maybe not.

To make “Greece” the answer to the question is simply incorrect, since there was in ancient times no unified country called Greece with a single seat of power. In the fifth century B.C., Greece consisted of a series of relatively small city states, many of which were oligarchies, monarchies or tyrannies. And certainly these have nothing to do with the “ideas for our government.”

We assume, then, that the question refers to Athens, which, by synecdoche, evidently becomes all of Greece. Yet the Athenian concept of democracy, with its nine archons, a 400 member advisory council and an assembly, in which all male citizens could vote on matters of state, is rather far from our notion of representative democracy.

Rome, on the other hand, with its consuls or emperors, its senate, and its nuanced judicial system was far closer to our governmental setup. Indeed, the Roman senate was the forerunner of our Senate, in that it was a deliberative body that was supposed to counter the sometimes uproarious and emotional nature of the people, as reflected in our House of Representatives.

In a later edition of the Daily Press yet another muddled question about Rome appeared. This time high school students were asked the following: The lifestyle of wealthy Romans was noted for its emphasis on:

A. public service B. extravagance and luxury C. simplicity and moderation D. concern for the proletariat

Once again I guessed incorrectly, since a case could well be made for all four choices. It specifically depends on which wealthy Romans we’re talking about. People like Cicero, Cato, Caesar or Augustus – wealthy Romans all – were deeply into public service and in many instances opted for simplicity and moderation, as well as a concern for the proletariat. On the other hand, if you read only Juvenal or Petronius, or perhaps rely on Hollywood epics about Rome, you might well come to the conclusion that some wealthy Romans were given to extravagance – which was, by the way, the alleged answer the question.

Granted, these are sample questions, but the fact is that all too many of the real SOL questions involve the same type of chicanery.

As I’ve said before, questions such as the ones above cast logic and precision to the wind. Based on suspicious stereotypes and broad generalities, they gainsay the specifics of the situation and leave students floundering in a sea of guesswork.

If, then, we’re going to bemoan the loss of standards, I suggest that we should start with the queasy standards represented by the deceptive questions on the SOL exams themselves. Or perhaps we should admit that the SOLs represent no standards at all and follow the lead of Maryland. Toss them out and start again at square one.