[etni] Re: the Meitzav

  • From: Amanda Caplan <amandacaplan@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: davidzalman@xxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:28:27 +0200

Regarding the 8th grade Meitzav.
It says very clearly in the instructions for the Meitzav that dictionaries
must not be used. If you look carefully at the  vocabulary, and compare it
with the new vocabulary Bands in the revised Curriculum, you'll see that
many of the words in the 8th grade test are on Band I, the elementary
school list. All the words are high frequency vocabulary and there really
isn't any need for dictionaries for most 8th grade pupils, providing of
course that teachers are teaching useful vocabulary throughout the year.

The instructions also say that the test may be adapted for different
ability pupils. That means that if you choose not to give the third, most
difficult unseen to your weaker classes, you can. The Meitzavit also makes
allowances for schools who opt to do so. This way it doesn't need to
be a "soul-destroying
experience".

Amanda


On 26 March 2014 17:18, David Graniewitz <davidzalman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> It doesn't really matter how an INTERNAL Meitzav test is done because (as
> the name suggests) the results are for internal use only. I think that
> schools should be able to adapt the exam conditions to suit their own
> needs. Why not pre-teach the vocabulary that appears on the exam, for
> instance, especially if the pupils in the school are weaker than average to
> give them a fighting chance with the exam?
> The meitzav can be a fairly soul-destroying experience especially for
> pupils who can do well because they study hard and prepare for tests. It is
> the first objective test that they have to do and studious pupils can fail
> it as there is no way of preparing directly for it if their vocabulary is
> weak.
> There doesn't seem to me to be a problem if schools allow pupils to bring
> dictionaries either as they will be allowed to do so in the Bagrut anyway.
> The problem only arises when the schools' grades are compared.
> David Graniewitz
> Jerusalem
>
> On 26 March 2014 17:06, David Graniewitz <graniewitz@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: ETNI list <etni.list@xxxxxxxxx>
> > To: Etni <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Cc:
> > Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:29:14 +0200
> > Subject: [etni] the Meitzav
> > Because the Meitzav is being done internally at some schools this
> > year, it seems that those schools have gotten the Meitzav tests just
> > recently. Someone I know works at a school that has prepared
> > worksheets to help the students pass this Meitzav after having seen
> > the Meitzav. She was asked to use these worksheets and when she said
> > it wasn't moral to do such a thing, she was told that they got
> > permission from above. I've heard of another school whose students
> > already did the internal Meitzav who told their students to bring
> > dictionaries to school that day. I haven't heard of any new policy. Is
> > this being done in your schools too?
> >
> > Anonymous
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-- 
*"The most important thing any teacher has to learn can be expressed in
seven words: Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the
product of the activity of learners." - John Holt*


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