New York City’s Department of Education has decided to drop its list of words to avoid on school assessment tests, the Associated Press reports. Companies that want to come up with school tests used to measure student progress were being advised to stay away from a range of topics in the questions they put together. On the list of subjects to avoid were creatures from outer space, junk food, vermin and birthdays. The Department of Education had said the list was a recommendation, not a ban, and was meant to make sure tests don’t contain any biases or subjects that could distract the students…