Concerning the MCAS. There was a discussion last month
in another Usenet group, alt.usage.english, concerning one of
its math questions which was written too loosely.
Here is the start of that thread. The thread has 130+ (not very
interesting) entries in Deja, which is where I recovered this from.
=================== start of Deja message.
Subject: Fix the wording in this test question?
Date: 12/10/2000
Author: Daniel P. B. Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Below is a verbatim question from a standardized math test. The
concepts and mathematics are clear enough, I think. I'm presenting
this is an English puzzle.
Construing the language as precisely as possible, but being careful to
take into account the full language of the question and the
multiple-choice answers, what do you think the correct answer is?
Do you think the question is actually OK? Is the wording good enough
as it stands? Or, as worded, could there be a legitimate uncertainty
about which answer is correct?
BEGIN QUESTION TEXT
37. When Matt's and Damien's broad jumps were measured accurately to
the nearest foot, each measurement was 21 feet. Which statement best
describes the greatest possible difference in the lengths of Matt�s
jump and Damien's jump?
A. One jump could be up to 1/4 foot longer than the other.
B. One jump could be up to 1/2 foot longer than the other.
C. One jump could be up to 1 foot longer than the other.
D. One jump could be up to 2 feet longer than the other.
END QUESTION TEXT
ObPuzzle: Assume that the wording needs improvement. Assume that the
concept to be tested is that "the range of real numbers for which the
closest integer is 21 is the interval from 20.5 to 21.5 not including
either endpoint, sometimes notated (20.5, 21.5)." What is a simple,
natural wording in everyday language that would test someone's
understanding of this concept while providing a single, unambiguously
correct choice?
Note: This question was waken verbatim from the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Mathematics Grade 8 test. The
test "common questions" are available as PDF files, linked from
http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/00release/. 8th grade students are about
13 years old.
The official correct answer to this question is C.
--
Daniel P. B. Smith
Current email address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Lifetime forwarding" address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Visit alt.books.jack-london!
============= end of Deja message.
On Wed, 10 Jan 2001 21:32:43 GMT, Gene Gallagher
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> The Massachusetts Dept. of Education committed what appears to be a
> howling statistical blunder yesterday. It would be funny if not for the
> millions of dollars, thousands of hours of work, and thousands of
> students' lives that could be affected.
>
> Massachusetts has implemented a state-wide mandatory student testing
> program, called the MCAS. Students in the 4th, 8th and 10th grades are
> being tested and next year 12th grade students must pass the MCAS to
> graduate.
>
--
Rich Ulrich, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.pitt.edu/~wpilib/index.html
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