"John Knight" <johnknight at usa.com> wrote in message
news:XHy%8.17561$Fq6.2085937 at news2.west.cox.net...
>> "Parse Tree" <parsetree at hotmail.com> wrote in message news:d31%8.8024
> > > So when 50% get the answer correct on a four part multiple choice
> > question,
> > > and if students just guessed at the answers they didn't know or
> understand
> > > (which is the worst case scenario), then (ignoring the standard error)
> as
> > > little as one third of them actually demonstrated a knowledge or
> > > understanding of the question.
> > >
> > > Let's look at what happens if 90% got it correct. x = total guesses,
> .25x
> > =
> > > correct guesses, .75x = incorrect guesses = 10 percent, x = 13.33
> percent,
> > > .25x = 3.33 percent = correct guesses, 90% got it correct - 3.33% got
it
> > > correct by guessing = 86.67% demonstrated a knowledge or understanding
> of
> > > the question.
> >
> > How are you calculating the number of people that guessed? I would like
> to
> > see how this is possible, since I know it is not.
> >
> >
>> Let's pretend that you really are asking a serious question, that you
really
> want to know, that this isn't intended to be a feminazi diversionary
tactic,
> that you really couldn't figure it out from prior posts, and that your
> question deserves a serious answer.
>> If you're faced with a question that you have utterly no idea even what
the
> words mean, that couldn't be more confusing to you if it were written in
> Greek (which the 0% correct response rate of American girls on many of the
> non-multiple choice questions demonstrated was the case), and you have
four
> choices on a multiple choice question--what do you do?
>> Do you ask a neighbor? Do you call someone on your cell phone? Do you
ask
> God for the answer?
>> Or do you guess?
>>> ps--here's a hint: the only time that getting a 25% correct response rate
> on a four choice multiple choice question would not represent 100% guesses
> is when a majority answered the wrong question, which *might* be evidence
> that they were taught the wrong thing instead.
Oh, then you really are categorically wrong. You have no method of
calculating the number of guesses, and you work based on a number of
incorrect assumptions.
