New Zealand To Allow 'Text-Speak' On Exams

ScentCone writes "New Zealand's Qualification Authority (which sets testing standards for the public schools) is confident that those grading papers will understand the meaning of students' responses, even if they use phone/IM-style text-speak. From the article: 'credit will be given if the answer "clearly shows the required understanding," even if it contains text-speak.' Many teachers are not amused, and critics say that the move will devalue NZ's equivalent of a high school diploma." Not to mention that graders will need to be restrained so they don't gouge their own eyes out. While in the medium of text messages, some shorthand might be in order, but I didn't realize that world paper, pencil, and ink shortages were so severe so that text-speak is necessary everywhere.

Comments

Are they kidding?

[Announcer]

How are kids supposed to learn proper spelling & grammar?

Anyone remember "Ebonics"?

Re:Are they kidding?

[Anonymous Coward]

shit ya yo. fucking titties fucking uppah claas fukin titties yo. grammuh only dare to keeps the fucking lower class down yo!

Me shud B a fucking cee Eee OOh dat a fuckin' coperashun.

fuck yo!

cuz speelin dont be making you any smartur.fuck.

Re:Are they kidding?

[msromike]

As an example, Perl (I will not use .NET as an example since this is Slashdot) depends on proper spelling and grammar used in unnatural constructs. Learning how to do things "properly" used to be a given, and something that the majority strived for. Now, "perfecting the details" (learning how to write in standard English for example) is an unnecessary a bother that cuts into time that is better used for watching MTV and such. We live in the land of "close enough." The problem is that in many cases close enough isn't good enough.

Re:Are they kidding?

[LS]

The ability to detect humor by slashdot moderators has seriously suffered recently. I've seen several posts modded as 5, Funny, that are mocking a parent poster's ironic joke that the poster and the moderators did not get themselves. Either that or the poster is purposely just sucking karma from the parent.

Indian Offshoring...

[kisrael]

Sometimes "text-speak" (surprised it's not "txt-spk") appears in odd places. Like 90% of the offshore folks from India I've interacted with, even in e-mail that was otherwise very professional and well written. Now some of these guys were bozos, but even for the ones that I knew were solid, smart workers...I just couldn't be sure if they even knew that "you" is not spelled "u"

Is "The Artist Formerly Know As" popular over there? I blame him for all this in general.

Re:Indian Offshoring...

[x2A]

Why? I mean, I actually get quite surprised whenever I see someone on slashdot spell 'lose' correctly, and that's from english-as-first-language ppl.

I'm quite picky with what I'll abreviate. You and for are such short words anyway, I think cutting down to 'u' and '4' is plain tacky, and makes you come across as being... well... somewhat cheap. But, as you can see, a six lettered word I don't mind so much, even on the internet, which is in fact where I picked that up, long before text messaging took off. Also, through and though have become thru and tho, but I do know the difference between thru and threw which I do see mixed up from time to time. Too and to are never 2, which should only mean two.

So I guess I don't have a fundamental problem with it, as long as ambiguity isn't formed, it remains easy to read, and you draw yourself a line so u dont spk lyk vis al du tym.

Re:Indian Offshoring...

[JaredOfEuropa]

I just couldn't be sure if they even knew that "you" is not spelled "u"

I've seen the same from Indian, Malaysian and Chinese IT professionals, and given the level of their English, they must have known that "you" is spelled "y-o-u-".

Some of the Indians I work with get training in dealing with western cultures, i.e. western management style, conflict resolution with Westerners, and English colloquialisms. My guess is that the quality of such trainings vary... some people, always from the same one or two companies, put the oddest colloqualisms in their emails. They are technically correct, but they just look out of place in business communication. Writing "u" instead of "you" is just one of those things.

I'm growing increasingly concerned....

[TomHandy]

That a generation or two from now, the entire English language is going to primarily be reduced to textspeak and leetspeak or something.

One thing that would give me hope though is that textspeak is really only required right now because with so many modern phones, text input is still cumbersome, so it is a necessity. Seemingly when new technologies come into place which would make text entry more efficient (maybe better predictive text input, speech-to-text built into phones, etc.) textspeak won't even be needed.

At least that's what I hope for.

Which subject?

[vadim_t]

Text speak in an English exam of course should result in failing it. On the other hand, I think bad grammar and spelling should be ignored on a math or a chemistry exam, so long the answer is understandable.

Re:Which subject?

[Coryoth]

Text speak in an English exam of course should result in failing it. On the other hand, I think bad grammar and spelling should be ignored on a math or a chemistry exam, so long the answer is understandable.

Really? Why? Are mathematicians and chemists not required to communicate? I can understand, perhaps, allowing a little more leeway, given that it is not specifically the subject being tested, but ultimately spelling and grammar matters. A large part of mathematics is being able to clearly communicate your reasoning to other people. Now mathematics does provide its own language and symbols to do a lot of that communication, however as someone who grades math papers, I am as sensitive to misuse of mathematical symbols as I am to misspelling and poor grammar, and I will mark people down for either if it is consistently poor (I will tolerate occasional mistakes). Any ambiguity introduced undermines the entire mathematical argument. Whether it "can be understood" is not enough - markers should not be required to try and figure out what a student meant: what they mean should be immediately clear, and that is an important part of the subject.

New Rulz !

[udippel]

Wrong ! it is B4 instead of B3f0r3.
The Emporor's new clothes: The king is dead - Long live the king ! leet sp33k will |-|4v3 gr4m4

I 4 1 wlcm our new overlords: The leet sp33k Grammar Nazis