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The original intention of a school worksheet was intelligent: to discover which students didnʼt
understand the reading lesson, so the teacher could work with them individually. Unfortunately, the
teacher had to keep the rest of the class busy while doing that, so more worksheets were passed
out. The assessment tool soon turned into a crowd control device. To make matters worse, the
worksheets multiplied faster than the loaves and fishes, often reaching 1,000 per child per school
year. But research shows no connection between the number of worksheets a student does and
how good a reader the child eventually becomes. If youʼre fed reading as six worksheets a day,
1,000 sheets a year, under the pronouncement, “Boys and girls, itʼs time for reading,” by the time
you reach fourth grade you think worksheets are reading, and you mistakenly think you hate
reading.
Which statement best expresses the unstated main idea
of the paragraph?
A. School worksheets may do more harm than good.
B. Reading is one of the most difficult skills for
teachers to teach and students to learn.
C. Over the years, school worksheets have served as
both an assessment tool and a crowd control device.
D. Teachers have a variety of teaching tools to
choose from.
What is A. School worksheets may do more harm than good.