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Many math teachers ban calculators on math tests. I'm pretty sure this has majority support, not minority. Google does simple math, so that's basically an equi

Many math teachers ban calculators on math tests. I'm pretty sure this has majority support, not minority. Google does simple math, so that's basically an equivalent issue. IMO it's dumb -- in real life you have access to Google. But I mostly wanted to say I think there's clearly majority support for artificial grading conditions, since the no-calculators thing is so popular.

DrJokepu 16y ago
I suppose it depends on the university, department and teacher, but we were allowed to use calculators on math exams. Of course, they weren't helpful at all - if you knew how to solve the problem the calculations were so simple that you didn't need a calculator, if you didn't, you couldn't solve the problem no matter how good your calculator was. For similar reasons, we were also allowed to bring in any books, notes etc. to exams. If you didn't have a good understanding of the subject, they weren't helpful at all as there was no time to start figuring out things, but if knew stuff, you didn't need the books and lecture notes at all or only for reference. Sometimes I miss those times.
tzs 16y ago
> IMO it's dumb -- in real life you have access to Google. If one is taking a class merely to learn how to Google for the answers, then one should not be in a university. One should be in a trade school which only teaches you enough of your fields of study to be able to figure out the right terms to Google for. When you take university classes, the goal is to learn to be the people that provide the solutions that the trade schoolers will Google for.
archgoon 16y ago
If you have access to Google, you have access Wolfram Alpha. However, the point of math courses is not to demonstrate that you know how to punch buttons, but that you know the methods and algorithms behind those tools.
blahedo 16y ago
Calculator bans aren't nearly as common now as they were ten or fifteen years ago. Pretty much all the major exams allow them, and questions are often written with this in mind.

DrJokepu 16y ago

I suppose it depends on the university, department and teacher, but we were allowed to use calculators on math exams. Of course, they weren't helpful at all - if you knew how to solve the problem the calculations were so simple that you didn't need a calculator, if you didn't, you couldn't solve the problem no matter how good your calculator was. For similar reasons, we were also allowed to bring in any books, notes etc. to exams. If you didn't have a good understanding of the subject, they weren't helpful at all as there was no time to start figuring out things, but if knew stuff, you didn't need the books and lecture notes at all or only for reference. Sometimes I miss those times.

tzs 16y ago

> IMO it's dumb -- in real life you have access to Google. If one is taking a class merely to learn how to Google for the answers, then one should not be in a university. One should be in a trade school which only teaches you enough of your fields of study to be able to figure out the right terms to Google for. When you take university classes, the goal is to learn to be the people that provide the solutions that the trade schoolers will Google for.

archgoon 16y ago

If you have access to Google, you have access Wolfram Alpha. However, the point of math courses is not to demonstrate that you know how to punch buttons, but that you know the methods and algorithms behind those tools.

blahedo 16y ago

Calculator bans aren't nearly as common now as they were ten or fifteen years ago. Pretty much all the major exams allow them, and questions are often written with this in mind.