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Man, if there was some reliable way of measuring knowledge we would probably solve education in about 10 years... The article actually just talks about distrib

• sykh 9y ago
  Well passing rate is a very bad meaurement. It’s so easy to fudge. In math a standardized final exam written by a third party would be a much better measurement of learning in my opinion.
  • chongli 9y ago
    In math a standardized final exam written by a third party would be a much better measurement of learning in my opinion I don't know about that. Standardized exams get students to focus on exam prep to the exclusion of all else. Then, when they encounter material outside the scope of the exam, they struggle mightily. I think we should be teaching broadly applicable problem-solving skills, not highly specific standardized exam material.
    • sykh 9y ago
      I’m not saying a standardized test would be a great way to measure learning, just that it is better than looking at passing rates. Passing rates are easy to make higher. When talking about student success in my experience it’s always about passing rates and not student knowledge. Also a test written by a third party could be varied from semester to semester. But almost all students at the level I teach at struggle with encountering a new problem type. I think it would carry more weight if student success in calc 1 were measured by how many who take calc 2 pass and how many can pass a standardized calc 1 exam and other such measures of student knowledge.