Posted by Kristine-CA on June 07, 2009 at 19:52:33:
In Reply to: RE Licence Textbook is WRONG, I'M RIGHT! posted by investorapprentice on June 07, 2009 at 08:34:23:
What's interesting to me is not the math. It's interesting to me that you
have a hard time believing that the test could be wrong. Speaking as a
former managing editor for K-12 curriculums, possibly the same math
books you had in school (Addison-Wesley, Macmillan, HB&J), I can
assure you a few things. 1) The question can be mistakenly worded in
such a way as to not assess what they are trying to assess and end up
confusing and or be impossible to answer, 2) the answer key can be
wrong, and 3) test writers fail to see that their question has more than
one answer. This is a fact of life in assessment tests. That license
handbook was probably written in house by those with little
experience and/or talent for writing tests or, more likely, the job went
to the lowest bid subcontractor. Consequently, it is a poor indicator of
understanding and future performance, but I understand the necessity
to pass it.Keep your eyes and ears open when it comes those that see it
differently in academic and assessment settings. Say Bob and Alice and
Jim all take a 10 question test. Bob gets 8 right, Alice gets 7 right and
Jim gets 5 right. The traditional scoring says that Bob and Alice got the
best scores and hence they understand the subject best. But what if
Jim got the five questions right that Bob and Alice got wrong. To me
that says we need Jim on the team.If it were me taking that test (and it never will be!) I would have done
my math long hand like Rick and wondered what I was missing.
Kristine