On Wed, 14 Nov 2001, Alan McLean wrote in part:
> Herman Rubin wrote:
> >
> > A good exam would be one which someone who has merely
> > memorized the book would fail, and one who understands
> > the concepts but has forgotten all the formulas would
> > do extremely well on.
>
> Since to understand the concepts almost always means understanding
> (and hence knowing) the formulas, I would interpret someone who has
> 'forgotten all the formulas' as understanding the concepts only in
> the most superficial manner, and so should do badly!
Non sequitur. To know formulas (in a deep sense of understanding them)
is one thing; to be able to write them verbatim is another thing
altogether (and something that xerographic copiers do better than people
do, by and large). Of course, it is easier to ask questions about the
details of formulas than to probe a student's deepr understandings...
> Overall, the evaluation of students is driven mostly by budget,
> (lecturers') time, lecturers' interest, the number of students,
> politics - the best one can do is to assess students as honestly as
> possible within the range allowed by these factors!
Sadly, this is true; and not infrequently exacerbated by administrative
rulings (not to say interference!). At the university where I teach
part-time, for example, course marks are to be submitted within 72 hours
of the final examination. Not a circumstance that encourages (let alone
rewards) setting the kinds of exams that Herman describes.
-- Don.
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Donald F. Burrill [EMAIL PROTECTED]
184 Nashua Road, Bedford, NH 03110 603-471-7128
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