"Parse Tree" <parsetree at hotmail.com> wrote:
>"The 9th Witch" <appalachian_witch at hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:ah044j$oqm9k$1 at ID-131540.news.dfncis.de...>> > TIMSS also included many problems that were NOT multiple choice, BTW, and you
>> > could not get full credit unless your work was shown and contained the key
>> > steps expected in the solution.
>>>> Well, shit, I'd would have missed it too. I never write down the steps, just
>> chicken scratches and the correct answer.
>>When I was littler, I was always scolded for not showing enough work. They
>expect so many unnecessary steps. While they may require multiplication to
>be explicitly written out, I most certainly do not. And what's with proper
>notation? Just useless memorization.
That may be one more reason why we did more poorly on TIMSS than other
countries; we have less tolerance for following directions. If the test says
"show your work", you "show your work". The modern standardized tests that
have work-out problems all require the work to be shown. Those that require
essays sometimes require that the rough draft/outline be included, and you
may be downgraded for not doing a draft/outline.
Now in the case of TIMSS, it was NOT that you had to show every step. But if
you missed the key step that showed that you understood, as opposed to merely
hand-waved, your answer was downgraded.
lojbab
