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SALT LAKE CITY — A test question about abortion that popped up during a 10th grade biology test is now under review. So is the process behind how test questions are written and selected.
A 10th grade biology student in Utah's Electronic High School snapped a picture of the test question on his cellphone and it was posted online.
It had to do with a 40-year-old woman being told her unborn baby had Down Syndrome and the doctor recommending an abortion.
"This was clearly a mistake," said Mark Petersen, spokesman for the Utah State Office of Education. "It was an inappropriate question."
Petersen said questions are submitted by teachers from around the state and this teacher apparently did not give the question adequate attention.
"She put this question in apparently without fully vetting it, without looking at it ahead of time," Petersen said. "The teacher recognizes that it's a completely inappropriate question and she has apologized for that."
State education officials are looking into where the question came from. Teachers can submit questions that are then selected for their tests. It appears this test was for use in that particular online class only.
Petersen said educators are sorry it happened but grateful it was brought to their attention.
"We are looking both at the origin of how this happened to start with and we're putting in new systems to see that this doesn't happen again," he said.
Critics said the question was poorly written and the answer options gave no room for religious beliefs on abortion.
The question and possible answers read as follows:
John and his sister Brittany are high school students in a small town. Their mother Jill is 40 years old and has just learned that she is pregnant with a child. Genetic testing has indicated that the child has Down's syndrome. Their family doctor has recommended that Jill have an abortion. John and Brittany's mother and father have called the family together to discuss their options. Which of the following statements describes how the family should make this decision?
- The parents should wait until the baby is ready to be born, then re-do the genetic tests to see if the results have changed.
- The parents should consider many aspects of this decision, including religious beliefs, financial burden, the effect on other family members, the mother's health, the doctor's recommendation and the life of the unborn child and then make the best decision for everyone.
- The doctor has more scientific knowledge. The parents should follow the advice of the doctor and have the abortion.
- The parents should consider the wishes of the mother since she will carry the greatest responsibility for the child, and do whatever she wants.
