Election Called 'A Great Civics Lesson'

By Jessica L. Sandham

Eleventh graders in government classes at Millbury Memorial High School had a special reason to keep a close tally of the legal lobs and volleys Democrats and Republicans hit at each other in Florida last week. To them, the eventual outcome would affect not only who becomes the next president of the United States, but also who receives extra credit.

In a pre-election assignment, Roger L. Desrosiers, who teaches government and U.S. history at the 450-student school near Worcester, Mass., asked his students to predict which candidate would win the electoral vote in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Under the rules he established, the student who netted the greatest number of accurate predictions would be awarded 10 bonus points...