PSAT Glitch

[David Colburn]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Arnold Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
>
> david colburn:
>  >some of the kids taking the test might have been taught this (silly,
>  >in my opinion) grammatical rule
>
> of course, the kids weren't taught such a "rule"; it's a figment of
> someone's imagination.  you might as well declare that sentences
> with an odd number of words are ungrammatical, because even numbers
> are "better" than odd ones.
>
> it's a bit dismaying to see so many people on this list - and i stress
> *on this list* - taking the existence of this "rule" for granted.
>
I don't follow you here. Why is it so obvious that no high school students
were taught such a rule? I made clear in my message that I think the rule is
nonsense, but that doesn't mean innocent students aren't being told to
follow it.  We know that at least one high school teacher (Mr. Keegan) was
punishing students who broke this "rule," so it stands to reason that some
other teachers around the country are probably enforcing it as well. Just
because *we* know the rule is silly doesn't mean students aren't being
taught to follow it.

-David Colburn