Minutiae: OpalCat Minute by Minute (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} opalcat) wrote,@ 2008-05-04 18:00:00 |
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| Entry tags: | rant, school |
Badly Worded Tests
Here is an example of the stupid type of question that I get tested on in my Urban Studies course:
Families in poverty are more likely to suffer in the areas of _______.
a. the level of unemployment among African American males
b. the disproportionate number of arrests, convictions, and incarcerations of black men
c. the shortage of black men or black women of marriageable age
d. a & b
e. all of the above
The answer is "all of the above"...ok so leaving aside the whole concept of "all of the above" being a poor answer for a question that asks "...are more likely..." or rather, "...are more likely..." is a poorly worded questeion for an answer that is "all of the above"...anyway, leaving that aside...
Is it just me or does this question imply that any given family in poverty is more likely to suffer those effects? For example, if I became poor, suddenly I'd be more likely to suffer a higher level of unemployment among African American males. Or my family's poverty is going to result in a shortage of marriagable black men and women.
I'm not even going to bother listing all of the questions with typos, mispellings, bad grammar, etc. or all the questions where the "fill in the blank" correct answer is the wrong format (wrong verb agreement, missing articles, etc)...
I will, however, give this example:
In Figure 14.1, what percentage of African Americans are considered middle class?
a. 50%
b. 40%
c. 7%
d. 3%
This wouldn't really be a problem except that this is a question on a test, and the figure is in the book, and not replicated anywhere on the test. We're just expected, I suppose, to have memorized the contents and numbering of every chart, graph, and illustration in the textbook.
