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Re: [Phys-L] Evaluation tests



We have found a very strong correlation between students passing this course with a C or better and our own survey, which is based partly on Jerome Epstein's "Basic Skills Diagnostic Test" (BSDT) and focuses a great deal on proportions and the meaning of algebraic letters (variable and unit abbreviations) vs. numbers. The key is to ask as simple a question as possible that still reveals the weakness. For example, without the help of a calculator, which is bigger: 25/27 or 15/17?

[Note: We have tried to structure our course such that students cannot pass by plug-and-chug; it is not perfect (yet) but this may have something to do with the strong correlation]

Robert A. Cohen, Department of Physics, East Stroudsburg University
570.422.3428 rcohen@esu.edu http://www.esu.edu/~bbq

-----Original Message-----
From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@phys-l.org] On Behalf Of John Clement
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 11:31 AM
To: Phys-L@Phys-L.org
Subject: Re: [Phys-L] Evaluation tests

Is this really true? Where is the evidence other than what you believe?
When someone says something is obvious or self evident, I wish to see the evidence.

As to discouraging students, a physics class taught in a PER based fashion can be the best way to improve student math ability, so perhaps an instructor who uses PER should welcome the lower students. I would agree that a conventional course probably lines up with the math evaluation test.

As to IQ tests, they are NOT an indicator of intelligence, but rather they were cooked to be an indicator of how well students can do in "conventional"
schools. In either case the correlation is far below 100%. As has been shown by Feuerstein it is possible to dramatically push up scores on these tests. A PER based course probably does push up such scores somewhat. It is obvious to many in school guidance counseling that IQ scores are fixed, but there are experiments that show completely the opposite. These people habitually say things like a dyslexic should not be in advanced courses, and ignore the federal law which grants LD students the right to be in such courses.

So it is quite possible that denying student entry into a PER based course is denying them access to exactly the type of course they need. The problem is that failure can act to traumatize the student, and retard graduation.
Here is a case where real education is at odds with bureaucratic mandates.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


Memo #1 from the keen-grasp-of-the-obvious department:

Give them an /algebra/ test. A poor algebra score is a strong
predictor of a poor showing in the algebra-based physics course.

The converse is not necessarily true, but one-sided information
is better than none.


Students who are weak in algebra should be strongly discouraged from
enrolling in the physics course to begin with. This is waaaay better
than enrolling and then dropping after it is too late to sign up for
something else.



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