On Tue, 9 Feb 2010 11:01:45 EST, wrote:

On Feb 8, 8:38 am, Dick Grady AC7EL wrote:
If we did deduct for wrong answers,
we'd probably have to reduce the passing percentage of 74% (26 out of
35) to something lower, say 65%.

Why?

All that negative points do is to remove any possible gain
fromguessing.

The way the multiple-choice questions (5 choices for each) on the SATs
were graded (back in the ancient times when I took them) wasthis:

5 points for each right answer -1 point for each wrong answer 0 points
for each answer left blank.

OK, that's different. I was envisioning subtracting the number of
wrong answers from the number of right answers. If a wrong answer
counted a negative 1/5 of a right answer, then the passing threshold
could stay the same.

But then the VE's would have to do a bit more math. Either multiply
the right answers by 5, or deal with fractions.

I have a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering, so in
college I studied all kinds of complicated equations dealing with
Fourier analysis and field theory (and had to derive some of them on
closed-book tests).

In my college, the Math and Pysics departments used closed-book exams.
The EE department used open-book exams: the prof would say: "You can
bring with you to the exam anything except another sentient being."

Dick, AC7EL

On Feb 9, 2:50�pm, Dick Grady AC7EL wrote:

�If a wrong answer
counted a negative 1/5 of a right answer, then the passing threshold
could stay the same.

But then the VE's would have to do a bit more math. �Either multi
ply
the right answers by 5, or deal with fractions.

The math is pretty simple.

Since the questions are all 4 choice, it would work like this:

For all exams, you get 4 points for a correct answer, -1 point for a
wrong answer and 0 points for no answer.

Each exam would require a certain minimum number of points to pass. If
my math is right, the 35 question exams would require 104 points to
pass, 50 question exams would require 148 points to pass.

In my college, the Math and Pysics departments used closed-book exams.
The EE department used open-book exams: the prof would say: "You can
bring with you to the exam anything except another sentient being."

In my EE undergrad school, all the lower-level exams were closed book
but as things progressed they became open book or test-free (based on
homeworks and projects).

In EE grad school, tests became even less important and projects/
homeworks more important. One course series involved doing
presentations in front of the class, with questions from both the prof
and the other students.

Formulas were the least of it.

---

I forget if I told the story of Professor W. here, but sometimes the
lessons weren't immediately apparent in those classes...


73 de Jim, N2EY