In the new single level tests being piloted in English reading, English writing and mathematics, the questions are all pitched at a certain level of understanding.
For the Great British Railway stamps, users are treated to a short film of English actor Bernard Cribbins reading W.H.
Last year's figures showed 77% of 11-year-olds had reached the required standard in English - comprising both reading and writing - up from 75% in 2003.
English comprises tests for reading and writing - and if reading is looked at separately, 54% of girls and 41% of boys across England are at this level.
Imagine if, when you were in elementary school, you tried to learn how to write essays by dictating one to your English teacher and never reading the transcript.
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In terms of college readiness, 28% of those who took the test did not meet any of the four ACT readiness benchmarks in English, math, reading and science.
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In a narrow, careful reading of English statutes, Lord Bingham concluded that General Pinochet enjoys criminal immunity for all actions carried out in his role as head of state even the ordering of others to commit large-scale murder, torture and hostage-taking.
Examiners will struggle too, to produce a single test that measures the same level of ability in children of different ages. (In music tests all candidates for a given grade play the same pieces: in an English test, quite different reading texts and writing topics would suit an eight-year-old than an 11-year-old.) The changes might even have the perverse effect of making children sit more tests.
Just 7 percent of fourth-grade and 3 percent of eighth-grade English learners scored "proficient" or above in a nationwide reading exam, and thousands languish for years in ineffective English-as-a-second-language programs.
As a middle school English teacher, most of my reading material lies in the land of YA fiction (I must admit, I LOVE the likes of Eragon, Inkheart, and of course, Harry Potter).
The British Museum does not currently have space for a big travelling show (it had to seek special permission from English Heritage to use the old Reading Room for the recent exhibition from China).
"If you're an Indian reading this book in English, it's probably because of Thomas Macaulay, " says the front cover blurb on a new biography of a man who foisted the Queen's language on India.
When its library moved to massive new premises 1.5 km away, it left behind one of the great English spaces: the 1857 Round Reading Room designed by Sydney Smirke, with its shallow dome, surrounded by an 8, 100 sq m internal court.
The notion that youngsters can't be taught reading in tandem with learning English is preposterous.
The two-story, English walnut-lined room has five reading nooks, a work desk that can be hidden behind two sliding doors, and a spiral staircase that leads to a catwalk of books and the master bedroom.
It will, he suggests, soon be possible to hold a conversation in English with a friend in Tokyo who is reading your words in Japanese.
An English Defence League (EDL) protest in Reading over plans to build a new mosque in the town has been condemned for causing "hatred and division".
Comparing dyslexics in various countries, they found that English-speaking dyslexics experienced far more problems with reading and writing than the others.
Phonics teaching is an important component of the teaching of reading, but not all words in English are phonically regular (the linguist David Crystal estimates 80% are, but the other 20% contains many of the most common words in English).
At age 11, one fifth of children fail to reach the level expected in English (Level 4) - although achievement in reading is better than in writing.
Cyprus expressed its gratitude with a banner reading, "Thank you Luxembourg" in English and Greek at the opening ceremonies on Monday.
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Here, Congress's best hope works well past midnight, polishing speeches and reading reports, on which she scribbles suggestions in English and Hindi.
"I loved the film, getting to know David O Russell has been great, but as a novelist and as a former English teacher who loves literature, part of the fun of reading a novel is creating that world in your mind, " says Quick.
But if reading a lot of novels gave you exceptional empathy university English departments should be filled with the most compassionate and generous-minded of souls, and, so far, they are not.
The Professor of English at the University of Virginia has created an audio archive of Faulkner reading and lecturing.
Sixty-seven percent met or surpassed the college benchmarks in English and just more than half, 52%, met them in reading.
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On a recent day in Lopez's third-grade English class in Miami, the students learned the four points of the compass by reading and acting out a poem.
Mary Bousted, leader of the ATL teachers' union, has previously warned that English as a subject is being replaced by "literacy" - with pupils reading extracts rather than complete books.
He moved to Reading with his family when he was nine, where he first adopted an English accent to avoid bullying.
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