 | | From: | Kara | | Subject: | Re: Am I thick?--- Aptitude Tests | | Date: | 17 Jan 2005 13:27:40 -0800 |
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 | I think it is possible to be culturally biased in a Math question.
Let's say a test says, show 2+2+4+12-1 on an abacus. And there is a
picture of an abacus and you are to draw in the beads. Let's say you
get this test question wrong. Why?
Is it that you dont know what 2+2+4+12-1 is?? No.
Is it that you cant learn what 2+2+4+12-1 is?? No.
What it means is that you have no knowledge or experience with an
abacus.
But I do believe that some teachers that would view this as a IQ mark
against a person or as an ability issue.
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| | From: | EKurtz99 | | Subject: | Re: Am I thick?--- Aptitude Tests | | Date: | Mon, 17 Jan 2005 22:08:49 -0500 |
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| "Kara" wrote in message
news:1105997260.775321.20750@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I think it is possible to be culturally biased in a Math question.
Possibly, in your somewhat contrived example, but we are talking about the
difference between British and American math; what would be an example of a
cultural difference in that case?
> Let's say a test says, show 2+2+4+12-1 on an abacus. And there is a
> picture of an abacus and you are to draw in the beads. Let's say you
> get this test question wrong. Why?
>
> Is it that you dont know what 2+2+4+12-1 is?? No.
>
> Is it that you cant learn what 2+2+4+12-1 is?? No.
>
> What it means is that you have no knowledge or experience with an
> abacus.
>
> But I do believe that some teachers that would view this as a IQ mark
> against a person or as an ability issue.
>
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| | From: | Dave Rusin | | Subject: | Re: Am I thick?--- Aptitude Tests | | Date: | 18 Jan 2005 05:54:05 GMT |
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| In article ,
EKurtz99 wrote:
>"Kara" wrote in message
>news:1105997260.775321.20750@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>>I think it is possible to be culturally biased in a Math question.
>
>Possibly, in your somewhat contrived example, but we are talking about the
>difference between British and American math; what would be an example of a
>cultural difference in that case?
"... . Express your answer in stones."
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| | From: | ekurtz99 at WhoKnowsWhere.com | | Subject: | Re: Am I thick?--- Aptitude Tests | | Date: | Tue, 18 Jan 2005 09:59:19 -0500 |
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| Dave Rusin wrote:
> In article ,
> EKurtz99 wrote:
>
>>"Kara" wrote in message
>>news:1105997260.775321.20750@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>>I think it is possible to be culturally biased in a Math question.
>>
>>Possibly, in your somewhat contrived example, but we are talking about the
>>difference between British and American math; what would be an example of a
>>cultural difference in that case?
>
>
> "... . Express your answer in stones."
....true, but this would only confuse an American taking a British test;
we are talking about the reverse situation (for the uninitiated, body
weight in Britain is measured in stones, 1 stone = 14 lbs).
There is one possible difference - the way that the combinations
function C(n, r) (the number of ways that r things can be selected from
n things where order does not matter = n!/(n-r)!r!) is written. In US we
sometimes write it as a pair of large parentheses containing the n over
the r (eg http://www.efunda.com/math/perm_comb/perm_comb.cfm). I don't
think they use that representation in Britain. But in any case, perms
and combs is a bit too advanced for the SAT.
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| | From: | Wolf Kirchmeir | | Subject: | Re: Am I thick?--- Aptitude Tests | | Date: | Tue, 18 Jan 2005 10:15:15 -0500 |
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| ekurtz99@WhoKnowsWhere.com wrote:
[...]But in any case, perms
> and combs is a bit too advanced for the SAT.
So, OTOH we have a SAT that is apparently too difficult for grads of
non-US school systems, and OTOH we have a claim that perms and combs are
too adanced for the SAT - whereas these topics are part of the HS math
curriculum in most industrialised countries of the world.
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| | From: | ekurtz99 at WhoKnowsWhere.com | | Subject: | Re: Am I thick?--- Aptitude Tests | | Date: | Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:30:24 -0500 |
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| ekurtz99@WhoKnowsWhere.com wrote:
perms
> and combs is a bit too advanced for the SAT.
For the old SAT, but not for the new:
"Of the 6 courses offered by the music department at her college, Kay
must choose exactly 2 of them. How many different combinations of 2
courses are possible for Kay if there are no restrictions on which 2
courses she can choose?"
see
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/newsat/prep/math/student_produced/prac01.html?student_produced
question number 3.
These questions seem ridiculously easy; maybe that is to avoid scaring
anyone.
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| | From: | JimC | | Subject: | Re: Am I thick?--- Aptitude Tests | | Date: | Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:53:46 GMT |
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writes
> > perms
> > and combs is a bit too advanced for the SAT.
Lucille Johnson from over in Willardsville, she's
getting her degree in advanced cosmetology
from Tech Junior College and she can do more with perms and
combs than dang near any Burkly socialistic astronomist. She
only had to go to college for six weeks and it takes them
seven years. Hell, some of them are looking all over the place for
elementary particles, and we got kids in the 10th
grade who can sweep all the particles off the floor
in 15 seconds. I just don't understand those people.
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