Cecil Moore wrote:
lid wrote:
It used to be that there weren't a set of questions with
corresponding answers - there was a syllabus from which the questions
were set. It took understanding of the syllabus to apply the formulae
that had been learnt to calculate the answer.
It is true that the 1950's License Manuals were not multiple
choice but the exams were. The License Manuals went like this:
Q: What is the unit of electrical resistance?
A: The unit of electrical resistance is the ohm.
The exam then had multiple choices, one of them being "ohm".
It is hard to understand how anyone could develop that correct
answer from first principles or formulas. I memorized the
correct answer and it still exists in my memory as something
I once memorized long before I ever knew there was a man named
Ohm after whom the unit of electrical resistance was named.
The difference between memorizing the question pool answers
from the 1950's License Manuals and memorizing the question
pool answers of today is just splitting hairs. I used exactly
the same memorizing techniques to ace the Extra exam in
2000 as I did to pass the Conditional exam in 1953.
Here here (!)
Cecil, I'm happy to agree with you.
Modern testing techniques are intended to be transparent. This is true
for FCC exams, Postal exams, any and all government qualification exams.
(And because of this, all qualifying exams in the private sector, as
well.)
It took a lot of litigation to get there. Government agencies had to
prove that their qualifying exams were directly linked to the specific
tasks required of the given position for which the individual was applying.
A Postal Carrier needn't know Pythagorus' theorum to deliver the mail.
I took the Postal Carrier exam 35 years ago and did not do well. I
wasn't good at sorting on a timed basis.
This notion of a "cheapening" of FCC requirements because the question
pool is open to the public is a red herring: transparency is the rule.
If you look at the question pool and study it, you will gain the
necessary expertise to pass the exam. This is not cheating, nor is it
short-circuiting the "REAL" ham radio "requirements" that some view as
sacrosanct.
I used ARRL manuals to pass the Extra Exam and I do not defer to anyone
in this regard. Does this make me a ham radio genius? Not AT ALL. Man,
I have SO MUCH to learn. This newsgroup is "potentially" very helpful!
For that, I give thanks.
You know, I love ham radio. I'm happy so many join the ranks each year.
If there still is a concern out there, be an Elmer and address it.
John
AB8O (yeah, I changed my call)