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From: ghot@ms.uky.edu (Allan Adler)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.misc,ut.general,uw.general,uw.math.grad,york.general
Subject: Re: Subtle Math Questions
Message-ID: <1991Apr21.194019.352@ms.uky.edu>
Date: 21 Apr 91 19:40:19 GMT
References: <1991Apr21.142443.2736@contact.uucp>
Distribution: na
Organization: University Of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences
Lines: 29


Roy Wood (rrwood@contact.uucp) solicits questions designed to stump
high school math teachers.

In view of the public discussion by some politicians, such as George
Bush and, in Kentucky, Martha Wilkinson (wife of the current Governor
and now running for the office for which he is consitituionally forbidden
from seeking a second term) of competency testing for teachers in public
schools, it is reasonable to ask: for what purpose will these questions
be used ? For competency testing of teachers (i.e., the development of a 
product to be sold to politicians who probably could not pass such a test
either) or as course materials for people planning to become teachers ?

The level of the questions suggested by Roy Wood by way of example also
raise some questions. Are high school math teachers going to be expected
to understand fractions but no higher level ? Are high school math
teachers going to be teaching fractions (which are taught over and over
again for years prior to high school) but no higher level ?

Another question is this: apart from the purpose which these questions are
expected to serve, what exactly are these tests supposed to measure ?
For example, while it is undoubtedly desirable for a teacher to know
the answers to such questions, the answer that is correct from the standpoint
of the person grading the test may not be the answer that the naive student
who asks the disconcerting question needs to hear. 


Allan Adler
ghot@ms.uky.edu