Re: A Tech Writing Test

Subject: Re: A Tech Writing Test
From: kristin evenson <kevenson -at- UMAXC -dot- WEEG -dot- UIOWA -dot- EDU>
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1993 13:21:45 GMT

As John Sanders says, yuck and wince. Are you sure that this ETS test is
for academic credit? Or is it just another "certification" of dubious value?
I used to write in-house computer documentation for American College Testing
(ETS's main rival) and they did dozens of certification tests--for social
workers, emergency nurses, auto mechanics, etc., etc. All were multiple-
choice standardized tests; it seemed to me that all they tested was whether
you knew a body of terms and facts well enough to darken the appropriate oval.
And if you did, hey! you got a certificate, suitable for framing.

Perhaps there is a use for standardized testing of knowledge, but these
tests sure don't measure performance.


--
Kristin Evenson Hirst kristin-hirst -at- uiowa -dot- edu
Guided Correspondence Study University of Iowa Iowa City IA 52245


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