You Think You're So Smart

Hello my dear friends. We often talk about how the world has gone mad. We discuss how kids today have no clue and how the education system is failing. Well, my friends, I believe I now know why. There is a controversy over a an element of a standardized Reading Comprehension Exam given to 8th graders in New York State. Students were asked to read a short story and answer the questions that followed. Easy enough. The problem is the story and questions that followed were, well, odd. Actually they were determined to be "ambiguous". Please read the short story and answer the questions that follow. In essence, the story went as follows: A pineapple challenges a hare to a race. The animals of the forest believe the pineapple must "have some trick up it's sleeve" that will allow it to win. Blah. blah, blah...and the animals of the forest decide to cheer for the pineapple because they want to back the winner and why would a pineapple challenge a hare to a race if it didn't have some trick to win. The race goes off and the pineapple never moves. The hare wins the race and the animals of the forest eat the pineapple. The "Moral" of the story is "Pineapples don't have sleeves". The questions that follow include Why did the animals eat the pineapple and what would have happened if the animals had cheered for the hare? Here is a link to the story and the questions. Please read. I'll wait....
Pineapple and Hare Story

Okay, now that you're done scratching your head. Let's review a few points. First, this is just another fine example of your tax dollars in action. Second, the passage and questions were reviewed by a "committee of teachers from across the state" and approved.
Spoiler Alert: The "approved" answers to the questions are 6) B; 7) C; 8) D; 9) A; 10) D; 11) C

After reading my story, please complete the questions below.
1) The people who approved this story and it's questions are
a) High
b) Illiterate
c) Comics
d) Goobers
2) The multiple choice answers should have included the option
a) What?
b) Are you high?
c) Is this a joke?
d) Who cares
3) Students who scored below average on this test are
a) Smarter than the people who created it
b) Still confused
c) Future teachers
d) Being deprived of a good education
Answers: 1-3) E - all of the above
Po