On Feb 11, 10:03*am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:06:02 -0500, John H.

wrote:
Yes, there are many 'tricks' to taking a multiple choice test, just as
there are many 'tricks' to the design of detractors and solutions to the
questions on the test. Students should have a general understanding of how
to take a multiple choice test, how to figure the odds, and when to guess
and not guess. Teaching that is *not* 'teaching THE test', but teaching
'test taking'.

You still aren't getting the idea.

It much more than teaching the mechanics.

For example, let's say I want to take the Private Pilot's Examination
without having to actually take a class.

All I have to do is go here.

http://www.faa.gov/education_researc...st_questions/m...

That is the question pool for the examination.

Same concept applies to the CT Mastery Test - all the questions that
can be potentially asked are there. *If you teach to the pool
questions, that is teaching the test.

There is no other way to describe it.

So, if they are teaching the pool, the kids are learning the pool,
thus, the kids are learning, the teachers have to teach them
something.. What's wrong with math, ss, science, etc, questions??

On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:09:46 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

On Feb 11, 10:03*am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:06:02 -0500, John H.

wrote:
Yes, there are many 'tricks' to taking a multiple choice test, just as
there are many 'tricks' to the design of detractors and solutions to the
questions on the test. Students should have a general understanding of how
to take a multiple choice test, how to figure the odds, and when to guess
and not guess. Teaching that is *not* 'teaching THE test', but teaching
'test taking'.

You still aren't getting the idea.

It much more than teaching the mechanics.

For example, let's say I want to take the Private Pilot's Examination
without having to actually take a class.

All I have to do is go here.

http://www.faa.gov/education_researc...st_questions/m...

That is the question pool for the examination.

Same concept applies to the CT Mastery Test - all the questions that
can be potentially asked are there. *If you teach to the pool
questions, that is teaching the test.

There is no other way to describe it.

So, if they are teaching the pool, the kids are learning the pool,
thus, the kids are learning, the teachers have to teach them
something.. What's wrong with math, ss, science, etc, questions??

Good, someone who gets it.
--
John H

On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:20:37 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:09:46 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

On Feb 11, 10:03*am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:06:02 -0500, John H.

wrote:
Yes, there are many 'tricks' to taking a multiple choice test, just as
there are many 'tricks' to the design of detractors and solutions to the
questions on the test. Students should have a general understanding of how
to take a multiple choice test, how to figure the odds, and when to guess
and not guess. Teaching that is *not* 'teaching THE test', but teaching
'test taking'.

You still aren't getting the idea.

It much more than teaching the mechanics.

For example, let's say I want to take the Private Pilot's Examination
without having to actually take a class.

All I have to do is go here.

http://www.faa.gov/education_researc...st_questions/m...

That is the question pool for the examination.

Same concept applies to the CT Mastery Test - all the questions that
can be potentially asked are there. *If you teach to the pool
questions, that is teaching the test.

There is no other way to describe it.

So, if they are teaching the pool, the kids are learning the pool,
thus, the kids are learning, the teachers have to teach them
something.. What's wrong with math, ss, science, etc, questions??

I'm having a sense of deja vue all over again with this discussion. I
know I've been through this with John before - not sure I want to do
this again.

It's not a question of "learning". We're talking about the Mastery
Test itself.

There is still a class curriculum that has to be taught to standard.

If the teachers are given *the test* to be administered and told to ensure
the students can answer the questions thereon, then the results would be
fraudulent.

If the teachers are given a pool of several hundred questions for each
standard and told that there will be five questions for each standard
similar to or the same as those in the large pool, then I've no problem
with it. (As long as the pool is sufficiently large to ensure the students
have mastered the standard by being able to solve all the problems.)


--
John H