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[Phys-L] my pen is bigger than your pen



On 10/15/2014 11:18 AM, Marty Weiss wrote:

Could be a Bic? (pen) then the answer is cm

Yes, and that is the "correct" answer according to the key
provided with the test in question.

A test of this kind is basically a telepathy exam. You have
to get into the mind of the person who wrote the test. In
this case it is easy to figure out that the person who wrote
the test was too small-minded to imagine any kind of pen
other than the hand-held kind.

I was trying to make a joke when I pointed out that meter-
sized pens also exist. In this I was completely outclassed
by Bill Nettles.

However, the broader topic is no joke, especially under the
current regime of incessant high-stakes testing. Cultural
biases in the tests are a huuuuuge problem.

Here is an infamous example: Once there was a test for young
children, so young that images were used rather than words.
One question boiled down to deciding what belongs in the
garage, a car or a boat. Every kid in Florida got it "wrong",
because there are actually good reasons to keep the boat in
the garage, especially in a rainy climate. Not to mention
the impact of such a question on an inner-city kid who has
never been anywhere near a boat /or/ a garage.

To repeat: Sometimes a joke is a way to make a point. The
point here has to do with cultural bias and lack of imagination
when constructing a test ... and the effect this has on the
interpretation of the "wrong" answers ... especially multiple-
guess tests where the students have no chance to explain their
reasoning.