Re: Bad test questions needed

["ElsaHaas" <ElsaHaas@si.rr.com>]

I've been getting a lot of off-list messages in response to my query -
thanks to all! I'm now trying to get specific information on two test items:


1.) The question said something like, "Which of the following planets is
closest to the sun?", and a kid who knew a lot about astronomy pointed out
that, while the "correct" answer was a planet that would almost always meet
this description, at the precise moment when he was taking the test, a
different planet on the list was in fact closer to the sun (or moon, or
whatever it was).

2.) The question was about the length of a straw inside a juice box, and it
didn't take into account the three-dimensional nature of the box. (Think of
the front side and the back side of the juice box as separate planes. A
straw might be positioned with one end at the top left corner of the plane
that's in front, and the other end at the bottom right corner of the plane
that's in back. But the test-makers thought of the juice box as a
two-dimensional rectangle, so the answer allowed the straw to fit in only a
single plane.)

If anyone out there can give me exact quotes or sources for these two items,
I'd appreciate it. 

Elsa Haas     

-----Original Message-----
From: arn-l-owner@interversity.org [mailto:arn-l-owner@interversity.org] On
Behalf Of ElsaHaas
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 11:45 PM
To: arn-l@interversity.org
Subject: [arn-l] Bad test questions needed

Do any of you have examples of bad (inaccurate, poorly worded, confusing,
biased, ambiguous) test questions for me? I need some for a fundraising
booth for FairTest I'm going to set up at an upcoming gathering of our
homeschooling group. (As mentioned previously on this list, I've
successfully proposed that our group match its members' donations to
FairTest). [...]

Elsa Haas