Comments

Question 12 on the first test:

"Tyree's solution for a division equation is 18. Which equation could Tyree have solved?"

That would depend on Tyree, now wouldn't it? If I've learned anything from reading math-teacher blogs, I've learned that on any given question, any given student, can give any answer at all (given or not).

What if there's a real Tyree in the student's class, who's really bad at math?

I'd imagine this question would be especially difficult for, say, an autistic child, and it needn't be. Personalizing the question adds nothing of value.

-- DougSundseth - 22 Dec 2005

I'd imagine this question would be especially difficult for, say, an autistic child, and it needn't be. Personalizing the question adds nothing of value.

Yeah!

We're making an autism advocate of you. :-)

-- CarolynJohnston - 22 Dec 2005

8-)

Beyond the fact that this is unnecessarily problematic for a part of the target population, this is the sort of argument that is very hard for a certain type of person to argue with.

Using it is tactically sound.

-- DougSundseth - 22 Dec 2005

I'd imagine this question would be especially difficult for, say, an autistic child, and it needn't be. Personalizing the question adds nothing of value

good grief

well, i guess it's a Good Thing, as Martha Stewart used to say, back before she went to jail, that we're taking perfectly normal human beings and causing them to ask themselves things like, 'What would an autistic student make of this question?'

-- CatherineJohnson - 22 Dec 2005

this is the sort of argument that is very hard for a certain type of person to argue with

I'm going to remember that.

-- CatherineJohnson - 22 Dec 2005

Ed says, 'You worked on that in Saxon a lot.'

I have no memory of this.

I'm losing my mind.

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

In any case, Christopher can do this problem.

I'm going to give him the whole test and see what he does.

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

Problem 18 of the first test is horribly worded.

Carmen put new tile on 1/4 of her bathroom floor. She then put new carpet on 5/8 of another section of the same floor. What fraction of the bathroom floor is covered with new tile and new carpet?

It doesn't say that the carpet goes on 5/8 of the floor. It says that the carpet goes on 5/8 of some other section of the floor. That section could be as much as 3/4 of the floor (i.e. that part which is not covered by the new tile) or as little as you want. So, it's impossible to solve.

What they apparently meant to say was that "She then put new carpet on another 5/8 of the floor." They put that "another section" business in there to clarify that the carpet did not overlap the new tile. But they incorrectly apply the fraction 5/8 to this new section, not to the bathroom floor.

Why can't they just use numbers to formulate a problem in adding fractions? Why do we need it to be a real world story problem? Ugh!

-- DanK - 23 Dec 2005

Actually, as I re-read Problem 18 and apply logic, I see that none of the bathroom floor is covered with "new tile and new carpet." Some of it is covered with new tile, and some of it is covered with new carpet, but none of it is covered with new tile AND new carpet.

They should have asked what fraction of the floor is covered with either new tile or new carpet.

-- DanK - 23 Dec 2005

I was just about to post a complaint about problem 18, but Dan beat me to it.

Whoever put this problem set together was being sloppy. Hope it wasn't the NYS regents.

-- CarolynJohnston - 23 Dec 2005

It looks as though this test comes from the NYS Dept of Education -- that is to say, the NYS Regents. Sigh. They just don't make NYS Regents like they used to.

My pdf reader thinks that second test is entirely black; did this happen to anyone else?

-- CarolynJohnston - 23 Dec 2005

It doesn't say that the carpet goes on 5/8 of the floor. It says that the carpet goes on 5/8 of some other section of the floor. That section could be as much as 3/4 of the floor (i.e. that part which is not covered by the new tile) or as little as you want. So, it's impossible to solve.

oh boy, what a mess

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

My pdf reader thinks that second test is entirely black; did this happen to anyone else?

I'll take a look.

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

Is this test too easy for 6th graders?

I need to put the Singapore placement test side by side with this test.

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

I have 25 questions on the first test; no black-outs.

I'll check the second one.

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

34 questions in Book 2; lots of 'show your work.'

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

One point as to the first booklet: no two step solutions

-- KDeRosa - 23 Dec 2005

One point as to the first booklet: no two step solutions

goodness, I can't believe that didn't pop out at me immediately

Singapore kids are doing two-step problems.....in second grade?

(Is that right?)

3rd grade for sure.

That's another thing.

Instead of creating 2-step problems, we create pretend-hard problems by writing 1-step problems in pretentious prose.

boy

it just gets worse and worse, the closer you look at it

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005

And I don't consider adding up a bunch of numbers to get a total for determining a probability or ratio a step unto itself

-- KDeRosa - 23 Dec 2005

And I don't consider adding up a bunch of numbers to get a total for determining a probability or ratio a step unto itself

At least they added.

In TRAILBLAZERS they just count stuff.

-- CatherineJohnson - 23 Dec 2005